Inverted Hearts: Twilight Promise
by Jedexa
Summary: Chris and Ann are thrown out of their normal lives on Destiny Island when Heartless show up. Now Chris searches for Ann with two new friends, and Ann joins an old acquaintance in his journey. Read & Review, no hard flames. STATUS: DISCONTINUED.
1. Prologues

The beginning of my long-awaited (um… maybe not…) KH fanfic! I worked weeks on this thing, then a month or so editing it! I kept freakin' editing it! I annoyed myself in doing so. It's a prewritten story, yes, just 'cause I'm a perfectionist on details and until I smoothed it out and was completely satisfied with it, I couldn't do a whole chapter-by-chapter thing. After writing it, I sent it to a bunch of my friends to let them read it. It was quite a hit, despite there being so little readers. I'm putting it on my deviantart, too. The logo is there. Check it out (it's the prologue, on DA).

(Take out the spaces) www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 47943533/

I'll keep updating with pictures of the characters and stuff along the way, too.

Whoa, looking at the date I started this, the beginning of May 2006, that's a LONG way back! I was writing it for a few days or weeks, then I just stopped all together, and in the middle of chapter… three, I believe. No, four. I had just ONE sentence for chapter four then I just stopped. Then in late Nov/early Dec I started working on it again… and I was addicted. Freakin' addicted. I couldn't stop writing it! It took over my liiiiifffe!!

Cough Anyway, the original title for this was just plain "Kingdom Hearts: Twilight", named after an RP I was doing. Then it became the beta title because I kept changing the name and couldn't decide. There were SO many choices! In the end, I used "Inverted Hearts" as the series name, just because it was so freakin' cool. Y'know where it came from? Grin I'll tell ya! It came from my very own signature. That's kinda strange, ne? About a half-year back or so, I changed my original signature, and after doing so, I realized it looked like a heart… an upside down one. See? Clever, ne? As for "Twilight Promise"… I wanted something that would sort of describe the whole fanfiction, or the theme behind it. It's not exactly the theme; it's just kinda cool and mysterious. While making the logo, my brothers said "hey, that's the name of a game!" and I was like "really??" and they showed me. It was a KH game, too! I swear, the name "Inverted Hearts" had nothing to do with that game nor did I steal it! And I'm keeping it the title of this fanfic, so there. My logo was much cooler anyway (in my opinion).

And yes, there are two prologues. "In The Past" was the one I wrote way back when, when I first started writing this, probably just to make a little sense of things in the future. "Opening" I wrote around Jan 19 2007, AFTER I finished writing the whole damn series! I decided I wanted an opening sequence, like that FMV at the beginning of KH. So that came along. It was so freakin' hard to think of all the symbolism that I wanted in there! It's basically an intro to all the main characters. Their names, yet to be revealed (unless you've visited my DA earlier on. Then you already know who they are). If you're confused about it, I think that's my fault. Since this was written after everything was done, I already knew what the characters look like and all. I tried to make myself feel like I was writing it for the first time, but that's kinda hard, so that was the result. Sorry! You can ask me questions if you're confused.

Disclaimer: I don't own KH. I wish I did. I'm just writing a fanfic for the fun of it. And I'm only writing this once, in this chapter. (Is that allowed? Only posting it once?)

I'll stop rambling now.

** Prologue: Opening **

_There are some things I can't explain._

_But everything that's happening…_

_Is it all real? Or not?_

* * *

Falling through a sea-like darkness, a green-haired boy felt the world melt around him. There was no light his purple eyes could see, except for a single faint line some unknown source was sending from above. 

There was a red-haired boy falling, into the abyss of nothingness. He began to fall faster and faster, his eyes still closed, then there was a flash. The boy opened his eyes.

The green haired boy felt the world spinning around him, and he looked around. He was home, standing on the shoreline with the tides at his feet.

He looked ahead. Standing in the shallow water was a girl—a brown-haired girl, and her back was turned to him. The boy saw the tide move, and he looked forward in fear. The girl turned around as a tidal wave formed from the blue sea. The boy ran forward, only to have the world shatter around him with the first step, and he could only see black around him as the girl disappeared, fading away with a curve on her lips.

The red-haired boy looked around his own home with eyes as aqua-colored as the ocean—his home was a gray cement city with a light blue sky. Black creatures surrounded the boy. He looked at them without fear, but anger and courage. The small creatures' glowing yellow eyes stared at him, then they jumped.

A blonde girl opened her chocolate eyes, looking around, her ears twitching. The sky above her held the brightest stars on the blackest background, an occasional shooting star passing by. Around her was the lush green nature of her home, and in front of her was a pool of pure water. She looked down at the water, seeing her reflection, the dotted night, and a pink sky of clouds. She saw something in the reflection: it looked like a person falling through the clouds.

The green-haired boy fell through a cloud-filled space, the sun just over the horizon. Was it setting or rising? The boy continued to fall through the sky as bright white comets rained from nowhere around him, then it abruptly felt like he was rising. He found himself tumbling through water now, a burst of water in the currents hitting him. He broke the clear, distorting surface of the ocean, looking around to see the brown-haired girl on shore, waving at him. He tried to run to her, reaching out his hand and trying to keep himself from tripping. He tripped once more, falling in the shallow water, but this time he didn't hit a solid ground. He fell through everything like a ghost, and he saw himself falling through the blue again, and the girl was watching him with her pale blue eyes.

The brown-haired girl looked on, her expression unreadable. She turned around to face the island she lived on, but it melted into grains and formed into something else. It was a beautiful garden. The sky was a bright blue and the sun shore brightly, making the girl squint. Then suddenly everything went dark. The girl was standing on her shadow. She looked down at it as it glowed a bright color.

The green-haired boy appeared at the foot of her shadow, and his lips moved. The girl couldn't tell what he was saying, and took a step towards him as if she could hear him if she were closer. Her shadow rose, exploding into a shapeless monster that grabbed at her, the glow fading into a dark aura.

She looked at it for a moment without fear, but as it wrapped around her and began to drag her away, she noticed the green-haired boy was also being engulfed in the darkness. His eyes were closed as if he were sleeping, and the girl screamed in silence, her hands jerking forward, trying to reach him, but the black substance that held her pulled her hands back every time she tried to go forward again. She screamed again, and like before there was no sound, but this time the darkness that was eating up the boy changed direction and joined its other half in enveloping the girl in darkness. The brown-haired girl closed her eyes and let the blackness take her, even though she was afraid.

The blonde-haired girl stood up quickly, looking into the distance with big eyes. The brown-haired girl gasped for air as if something was suffocating her. The green-haired boy held a look of determination as he looked down with disappointment or some sort of shame, his hand clenching his heart. The red-haired boy looked around suspiciously, alert.

The red-haired boy suddenly fell through the ground, the scene above him rippling out of existence. His eyes shut on some sort of instinct. Once again he was in the dark place, but this time it was a black-blue sea. Glowing bubbles escaped as he sunk at a racing speed. When he felt himself slow, he opened his eyes, flipping slowly as if there was no gravity and landing softly on his feet. He immediately looked around, taking a step forward. There was a flash and the ground flew from under him, taking the form of many glowing black and white birds that flapped their wings. He watched as they flew into the distance, disappearing, and then noticed there was a glowing image on the ground of a red-haired girl in a white top and purple-hued skirt.

The green-haired boy looked up. Glowing pure white feathers were falling gently before him, like an angel just flew by.

**Prologue: In The Past**

Stars rained from the sky. A young boy looked up at it in awe, smiling, he knew the stars well, and to see them dance was a treat.

He was standing on a beach in green shorts and a yellow shirt, and oversized yellow shoes. He looked about the age of seven or eight, bearing green hair that he liked to keep long and purple eyes that were as deep as midnight. He looked out to sea on his position on a sand dune, where he'd often play with his friend. But his friend had left, and she was coming back. He knew she was coming back. He grinned, having not seen his friend for almost a week.

He saw in the distance, a wooden boat making its way towards the island, his homeland. He ran down the sand dune, out to the wooden docks of the island. He watched the boat sail home, waving.

There was a light on the boat, a guiding light to help them through the night. The boat came closer and closer, and the boy waited for it's true arrival. He waited like he had waited all the other nights of the previous week.

Then his eyes widened in horror. The falling stars that he had thought of as a welcoming show suddenly turned into a disaster party. A meteor hit the boat, causing great waves to radiate. The light of the boat was gone.

The boy screamed, calling out for his friend. He heard nothing, but spotted something bright among the wreckage. Without thinking, he dived into the ocean, fighting the waves pushing him back, keeping him away from his friend.

He made it to the wreckage, his small hand reaching out for another tiny hand. Almost out of energy, he endured the pressure of the water, pulling a little girl close to him. He held on tight to her, relaxing as he felt her in his grip.

The night was still young, and the young boy held onto the unconscious little girl, drifting back to shore. He didn't move; he didn't kick his legs to swim. He just lay there, at sea, looking up at the shattered sky.

He used to trust the stars. He tried to read them carefully as the meteor storm went on. He couldn't see well, his vision was blurred. He was tired, he was suffering from fatigue, but he held onto his consciousness. He had to; he needed to get his friend to safety.

He soon felt sand under his head, and dragged himself and his friend further up shore, laying her down by the foot of a sand dune. He checked to make sure she was breathing. He gasped when he found out water had filled her lungs.

He called for help weakly, not wanting to leave his friend's side. Luckily, there was someone nearby. A woman that was long native to the island.

She helped the boy's friend, pressing down on her chest. The boy watched, worried for her life, tired but unable to sleep. Soon she coughed up the water, but she was still not waking up.

But she was safe. The boy thanked the woman; who told him all she needed now was rest. She left, knowing the girl was in good hands, and searching for her parents who the woman knew as acquaintances.

The boy didn't leave her side all night, trying his best to stay awake. He spotted a brown haired boy along the beach; a child he knew was native to the island, but he seemed to be helping someone else.

He brushed it off, clutching the gold locket around his neck tightly.

He eventually fell asleep.

* * *

"Who are you?"

* * *

The prologues of IH:TP! Hey, if you all think I should change the title to just "Inverted Hearts", somebody please review! Oh, and special thanks to these people! 

My sister, Amanda, for reading (though you're slow!! XD) and correcting any mistakes in this lengthy fanfiction (we shall be eachother's editors for life!!); my good fanficion addicted friend, Cassie, for reading it and spazzing with me about it even though you have no idea what KH is; my old teacher (), K.W., for reading it in one night (I still cant get over how fast other people read!) and talking to me about it and critiquing it a bit; and my friend for life who I haven't seen in years (but I do email her), nicknamed Val. And let's not forget the creator of Kingdom Hearts, the fabulous Tetsuya Nomura!

I usually don't think I'm a very good writer ; so R&R, please! I'll be updating steadily (hopefully). Maybe I'll reveal how many chapters long this is in the future.


	2. An Ordinary Day

Yay! Chapter 1! Uggh! I'm SO sorry for being a week late! I promised everybody (mostly on DA and SA) that I'd get it out last week! Gomen!! I was doing some last minute editing and such!

A little bit about the origins of IH:TP- it started way back then. I was JUST getting into KH (I wasn't much of a video game fanatic). Me and my brothers and sister did a RP about KH. It was crappy and all. We abandoned it after we finished it. A year or so later, I got obsessed over it 'cause 1) I finished COM and was playing it over and over a dozen times (and around that time we also finished KH1… yeah, we suck. We abandoned it in the middle of the game, then we started it up again), and 2) KH2 just came out (or something like that) and we got it and finished it pretty fast. I decided to refine the idea (I had refined the idea before, when I was drawing the characters, but I refined it more!) and make it into a fanfic! It's almost completely changed from the original. I'll explain this a little more later on when the other main characters are introduced.

Anyway, enough rambling from me!

**Chapter 1: An Ordinary Day**

"Chris!" A girl sang cheerily, skipping to the boy she addressed.

The boy named Chris, twitched, grunting. "What do you want, Ann?"

The girl was a below-average sized fourteen-year-old with spiked shoulder-length brown hair and lively icy blue-gray eyes, and she was wearing a black zippered tank top with white edges. Over it she wore a purple short-sleeve over-coat with a red and magenta arrow shape lining the back, a white collar and white sleeves with a line of black at the end, white lining at the bottom of the shirt, zippered pockets, and gray and indigo straps with gold buttons and a gold buckle. She also wore a white jean skirt with silver-lined pockets and a silver belt with a small knapsack at her back, and on her feet were leather boots that rode up to her knees. It had many straps in white and black, zippers, gold buckles, black and white soles, a metal spike at the heel, and a metal cover at the toes.

"Will you play with me?" She asked the older boy. Both knew that by 'play' she meant 'spar.' Her lower arms and hands were wrapped with bandages, and a rope tied two sharp spear-like sticks to her arms and elbows. This was her choice of weapon, along with her metal-tipped boots; she liked to just fight with her hands and feet.

Sixteen-year-old Chris had long forest colored hair, which stuck in any direction it chose, and his bangs hung just over his deep indigo eyes. He wore a gray shirt that had a red cross over it with a zipper and a black jacket with a crimson snake-flame design weaving around his right sleeve and back with some buckles and zippers, and a beat up gold locket hung around his neck. There was a black belt with two chains hanging on the sides and white pants with black stripes wrapping around the backside and zippers below the stripes on the front side going in a slanted direction. He also sported red and white shoes with a purple stripe running down the front, colliding with a gray tip, it also had some zippers and straps, and the black soles were worn out after being used so much.

"…Fine." He said, grabbing his dagger and hung it on his belt. His dagger was made of a green mineral he found, it was known as jade. It had four rectangular holes in it to make it lighter, and the edge was jagged. The hilt was gold and the grip was black, and there were two rings of indigo at the ends of the grip. "Let's just go outside. Mom killed us the last time we used the living room as a coliseum."

"Okay!" Ann was jolly today, she didn't know why. She wanted to be like Chris, who was dark and quiet most of the time.

Chris smiled, though it was barely noticeable. He followed Ann, who was skipping out of the house. He thought back, to when he used to be like that: all cheery and careless, with nothing to worry about.

But that thought led him to the memory of the meteor storm.

He shook his head, continuing to follow his roommate. He remembered again: his family had taken Ann in after the meteor storm because she had no home to return to. She used to live in a boathouse, he recalled, but it was destroyed.

He remembered the woman from when he was little; she had found out that the lifeboat to Ann's boat was missing the next morning.

That day… He remembered it so clearly. It was the day she broke his heart.

* * *

_The nine-year-old had woken up, the sun shining brightly down at him. He looked next to him; there was his friend, sleeping soundly. He smiled, knowing she was okay. He wandered away for a moment, gathering some food and firewood._

_Soon he had built a fire, cooking some mushrooms and fish above it. He remembered what his friend taught him about fishing._

_Soon, the girl began to wake up, shifting. She sat up, rubbing her head. The boy sat down next to her, smiling from ear-to-ear. She opened her eyes looking at the boy confusedly. She blinked as the boy greeted her._

_"Good morning, Ann! Are you feeling alright?"_

_"Who are you?"_

_The boy's expression changed from smile to frown in an instant. He stared at her in disbelief. "Ann, quit playing around. It's me, Chris."_

_Ann blinked. "…Chris? I don't know anyone called Chris…" She looked around. "Where am I? What happened? Is… is Ann my name?"_

_Chris stared, tears filling his eyes. Did she really forget? "I'm dreaming. I must be dreaming…"_

_"Tell me, please."_

_"What?" Chris looked up, taking a moment to process what this girl had just said. "…We're home. Don't you remember, Ann? You were coming home," He remembered the week before, when Ann's parents and herself told him they were going back to their homeland, where Ann was born. Chris continued, "and there was a meteor shower last night. You almost drowned. Don't you remember?"_

_"No… I remember being home. The radiant gardens were beautiful…. The people were so nice…. I went somewhere, and the next thing I know, I'm here."_

_"Ann, this is home. You said it yourself."_

_"What? But… I've never been here in my entire life."_

_Chris' eyes widened, feeling a pain in his chest._

_"But… wherever I am, I'm sure it can be home to me. Can I stay, Chris? Can we be friends?"_

_Chris was crying, but he wiped his tears. He looked at Ann, holding his locket tightly by his heart and nodded._

_"Let's be friends." He said. In his mind he was thinking: Again. Let's be friends again. But… it wouldn't be the same._

* * *

"Chris! C'mon!" Ann called impatiently from the bottom of the hill Chris' house was mounted on. He snapped back to reality, and he stepped out from under the wooden porch's awning, taking the walkway down to Ann. He looked around his island home, the Destiny Islands. 

He eventually became good friends with Ann once again, but he was right. Things weren't the same. Things changed; he changed.

They got into their boats, rowing over to the small island that branched off from the mainland. Together they walked on the beach, where they spotted some of the other island kids. Sora, Riku, and Kairi.

Ann looked at Riku: long white hair that stuck out, yellow and blue outfit, strong figure…. He seemed just like Chris… only a year younger.

Ann shrugged, running down the beach. Climbing onto a higher ledge, she continued over a bridge, coming to a small platform where a large palm tree bent over the water below.

"Hurry up, Chris!" She called, waving. He was walking slowly, eyeing the redheaded girl named Kairi.

That girl had appeared on the island the same night of the meteor storm. She had no memories, no recollection of her past. She only knew her name, but not where she came from. Chris blamed her for Ann's amnesia. He didn't know why he blamed her, but he never did anything hostile because of it. He never hurt her, he barely talked to her, but whenever she said hi to him he didn't say hi back. She was always trying to be nice to him, and he still blamed her, but he did nothing. He knew she wasn't native to the island, just like Ann. But Ann had lived there since she was two.

He continued to wonder about that as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, walking toward the small island Ann was sitting on, bored now. "Hurry up you slowpoke!" She called, resting her chin in her hand and her elbow on her leg. She gave a mock yawn and stood up when Chris got there.

"You're too impatient. A good fighter needs patience." Chris chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She ran over to the other side of the platform. "No weapons!"

Chris frowned, glaring at her.

"What?" She asked, not getting his message.

"No spear… things, then." He pointed to her elbows, "And your boots."

"Aw, but I don't want to go barefoot!"

"Your fault for getting such…" Chris paused, searching for the right word, "deadly weapons."

"It's not deadly! It's cool." Ann grinned, undoing the ties of the ropes, dropping the spear-like weapons. Then, crouching down, she began undoing all the buckles and zippers on her boots. "Though it has an annoying amount of straps."

"Didn't you request that when you asked the cobbler to make them?"

"Yeah… but that's not the point!" Ann stood up. Without her boots on, anyone could see her feet were covered with bandages like her arms.

"You ready yet?" Chris tossed his dagger to the ground.

"Yeah, but it's your fault if I trip or bleed or something!" Ann laughed, charging. The rhythm of her footsteps met her ears as she eyed Chris, who didn't move and had his eyes closed.

Ann knew this strategy: don't dodge until last second then trip her. He's used that strategy so many times.

As she ran forward, Chris analyzed her movements, figuring out where she was going to hit. When she got closer, he stepped to the side, and Ann changed direction at the last second, almost missing Chris. She ended up grazing him a bit.

"Nice, but you've still got work to do." He smirked. He was just teasing her with that statement, he knew her style better then anyone, but he himself knew less about hand-to-hand combat then her. That's why he preferred dagger-work and defenses.

He jumped back as Ann aimed from above, hitting the ground as a result. She shivered a bit from the impact, recovering fast. She continued to charge at him, trying to hit him from above, below, at the side, even from behind. He dodged or defended from all of them.

After about ten minutes, she began to slow. Chris paused in mid-movement, giving Ann the chance to attack him from below. He staggered, looking up at her. _She knew I'd stop!_

He frowned, dodging another attack. Ann sped up again. _Time for the offensive._ He dodged once more by jumping, and then he brought his hand down on Ann's shoulder in a chopping motion as he landed.

"Ughn!" Ann grunted; she nearly got knocked out. Recovering, she spoke, "Heh, you purposely missed my vital point, eh?"

"So you remembered that move." Chris commented, giving off the impression that he was impressed. "Yeah, if I did hit you in the right spot, I'd have to carry you home… again. And you're heavy." Chris teased, dodging Ann's punch.

They continued for about another five minutes before Ann began to slow. This time she was getting genuinely tired.

"Ann, maybe we should stop…" Chris said, worried.

"Uhg, not again, Chris. You always run away." She panted.

"…Ann, you know you're tired. I'm just worried about your health." Chris said darkly. He was back in his usual mood.

He stood up strait, heading to his original spot and picking up his dagger. He didn't look up, but he heard fast footsteps beating at the ground. Rolling to the side, Chris looked up, smirking a bit. "Ann, did you really think you could surprise attack me…?" Chris stopped, hearing a scream and a splash. "Ann!"

He ran over to the edge of the platform. Ann was splashing around in shallow water, but it was slightly deeper then it looked.

"Chris! Get… me out of… this!" She yelled as she tried to keep afloat.

Chris shook his head. "You dummy." He muttered before taking off his jacket and kicking off his shoes and diving in.

Draping her arm over his shoulder, he dragged her towards the ladder by the platform, helping her keep steady as she climbed up it.

Coughing, she glared at Chris as he came up the ladder, soaked just like her.

"You idiot! You know I hate water!" She yelled at him.

Chris frowned, "Hey, it wasn't my idea for you to fall!" He replied, "Besides, that water wasn't very deep! Even I could stand in it!"

"So? You're older! And taller!"

"Just get your stuff and let's go home." Chris ordered, seeing no need to argue further. He didn't like fighting with Ann anyway. He promised he would be her friend, and he knew arguments always led to disaster.

* * *

Introducing the characters, Ann and Chris! And no, unlike some cliché stories (no offence, everyone. They're still cool! Only a little cliché… I'll stop talking about that now…), these characters AREN'T Keybearers! Ann is my beloved character, based off of me (not really. She's just the character I played when I was role-playing KH with the sibs). But her hair is hell to draw, seriously. And her shoes! I complained about her look so much when I first designed her ; I don't much anymore, since I don't draw her that often. Chris… he was plain freakin' boring. He was my brother's character. After writing the whole fanfic, I was like "I wanna write more about Ann! And ------ ((sorry, she hasn't appeared yet! I can't reveal who she is!))! And ----- ((another character to-be-revealed. He appears earlier than the girl, though))! Chris is boring! I can't think of anything to write about him!" 

Chris: Hey! It's not my fault I'm boring!

Yeah. It's Jon's fault XD. I blamed his look. The more interesting the character to me, the more I want to write about them. SO! I redesigned Chris! He's much more interesting now, but he still keeps most of the same elements of his original design. Compare! (don't forget to take out the spaces)

deviantart. com/deviation /29000245/ (old design)

deviantart. com/deviation /49639890/ (new design) -- THAT is why I didn't update last week… that and homework…

Remember when I was talking about the origins of IH up there? A little peek into the future for you! The last line Ann says in the very last chapter is the actual line from the RP! Ok, sucky preview. But it's something! It ties into the next game, too!

I'm not sure about the Kairi bit in this chapter, but looky! Flashbacks! That'll happen a lot in the next few chapters. Hey, R&R!


	3. The Past

Oopsies! Sorry, I've been busy (3. I'll update more often now, I swear! It's summer! 

One more chapter to go before it starts to get interesting! Yay :D

**Chapter 2: The Past**

_The two children laughed, Ann pushing Chris down the large sand dune, but not before he grabbed her hand and dragged her down the sand hill with him. They rolled down uncontrollably, wrestling each other._

_When they stopped at the bottom of the dune, Chris was on top of Ann, laughing. Ann was grinning broadly._

_Chris stopped laughing when he felt lips on his cheeks for a short second. He looked down at his friend, getting off her. He blinked, staring at her as she got up also. Just then he could've sworn he thought Ann was…cute._

_Ann was still smiling, her hands behind her back._

_"Here, Chris. I want you to have this." She held out her hands. In her tiny palms was a golden locket._

_"Wow…Thank you. What is it?" He took the locket, looking down at it in his hands._

_"My parents gave it to me." She answered, standing up next to him as he held the locket up in the moonlight and watching it glint, "It's very precious."_

_Chris knew something was wrong at that moment. He didn't know what it was, but he knew something was wrong in some way._

_Ann didn't notice his serious expression, but ran out towards the sea. She stopped at the shoreline. "Chris…"_

_"Yeah?" Chris walked over, plopping down in the sand next to her. The tides came in, surrounding their feet._

_"We'll be friends forever, right?"_

_Chris smiled, looking up at her. She was pointing one of her little fingers up at the starry night sky. She was pointing to the brightest star._

_He nodded, standing up. "Yeah, friends forever."_

_Ann look at him out of the corner of her eye, her other hand reaching for his. She held it, making him blush. She lifted his hand into the air._

_He got her message, pointing at the same star._

_"Vow that no matter what, we'll be friends?"_

_"I vow that we'll be friends forever." Chris smiled, lowing his arm, holding out his hand towards Ann. His pinky was shaped like a hook. "Pinky swear, too?"_

_"Pinky swear!"_

_Chris laughed as they hooked fingers, then he looked back up to the brightest star. "Heh, no matter what, we'll be friends, Ann, so don't you worry! Even if we're apart, all we have to do is look up to the stars! Every place shares the same sky, and we share the same heart!"_

_Ann smiled. He didn't know it, but that was exactly what she wanted to hear._

* * *

"Uhg…" Ann moaned, bringing Chris back to reality.

"What's wrong now?"

"Just a headache. No need to worry." Ann smiled nervously.

"Again?" Chris shook his head. "You've been having headaches ever since you got amnesia."

"I never got amnesia. I've been getting headaches ever since I got here." Ann insisted. Chris shook his head again; she always said that. Why couldn't she believe that she had lived here before?

"Let's go." Chris said, handing Ann her weapons.

"You're not cold?" She asked, taking off her over-coat and squeezing the water out of it.

"After all those times I swam here? No." Chris shrugged.

"…When did you swim…?" Ann asked, "I live with you. I've never seen you swim."

"You don't like swimming, so I end up swimming alone. At night."

"Really? It must be freezing at night!"

"Yeah. We used to do it all the time together. Remember?" Chris didn't hear his own words.

"What? You're still at that whole 'we've known each other forever' thing?"

Chris stopped. "Sorry."

"Hmph. Still, I don't like water. Where I come from, there's only a little bit of water. At least from what I've seen." Ann said stubbornly.

_Why won't she understand…?_ Chris thought, his hands digging through his pockets absently.

"You go home. I'm going… swimming." Chris said.

"What? Now?"

"Sure, why not? It's evening, and I'm wet anyways."

"What about dinner?"

"I'll go fishing."

"Honestly, where did you learn to fish?"

_You._ "An old friend…"

"Sora? Riku? Kairi? Um… Tidus? Selphie? Wakka?" Ann began naming off the island kids.

"No. Anyway, see you tonight."

"Okay! Be careful!" Ann said as she walked off. Chris watched her go away, sighing.

He wished he could take her to the place he always went when he wanted to think. He never did take her there, and she was the one who discovered it. It was an old cave, like the one Sora, Riku, and Kairi had and didn't let anyone in. Chris remembered accidentally stumbling upon it with Ann in his younger days. There were childish drawings all over the place.

That's where he got the idea to draw in his own cave, with Ann, of course. He walked to the edge of the water, wading through. He began to swim to the other side of the island. He stopped by one of the docks. He saw Sora and Kairi. They were talking, and their conversation seemed pretty deep. He caught a bit of their conversation.

"Sora, let's take the raft and go—just the two of us!"

"Huh?"

"Just kidding."

"What's gotten into you? You're the one that's changed, Kairi."

"Maybe... You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready. No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here. Right?"

Chris stopped listening at that point, he had swum on. He wondered what they were going to do.

Soon he reached the side of the island where a big wooden wall stood separating the two sides. He took a deep breath, diving under. Underwater, he swam through a tunnel in the rocks below, emerging in a cave with stale air. On the cave walls were drawings. He stepped onto the ground there, walking deeper into the cave, his hand dragging along the cave walls.

He came upon the last one. It was one Ann drew. It was of the night they made the promise. He was saddened as he looked around to all the great memories. The last time he was here he laughed at himself, for the way he used to draw. There were no drawings after that one. It was empty. Chris had no longer desired to draw in the cave; it just wasn't the same without Ann.

He sat there, in his sanctuary. No, if it were a sanctuary, he would be at peace. He wasn't at peace. But that didn't matter. He just thought. He thought back to the days with Ann where he was the happiest, he thought so he wouldn't forget.

But honestly, he wanted to forget, so he could start over, just like Ann. But he just couldn't let go. He didn't _want_ to let go of the Ann he once knew.

He thought back. This time to the days after she became a new person.

* * *

_"What are you doing?" Ann asked Chris, who was now at the age of eleven._

_"Cleaning my dagger." Chris responded without looking up. His voice was deepening; it made him seem a bit scary in Ann's eyes._

_"Cool, where'd you get it?"_

_"Someone who makes daggers on the island made it for me."_

_"Why's it green?" Ann wrinkled her nose._

_"Because it's made of jade."_

_"Jade? Is that what it's called? 'Jade Dagger.' Hehe, sounds awesome." Ann grinned._

_"No, Jade Blade."_

_"That sounds even more awesome!" Ann poked Chris' ribs, causing him to twitch. "Let's play together! Show me how to fight! Maybe I can use the dagger, too!"_

_Chris jumped up from his spot by his desk. "No! It's too dangerous! You'll get hurt." Chris protested, "Besides, you're a girl. Girls can't fight well. Um, that well." Chris didn't want a bunch of angry girls at his door wanting to beat him up, so he added that last bit as if it'd help a little._

_"And? Like I care! I can become better then those other girls then!"_

_"You don't care if you get hurt?"_

_"Uh… well, I…"_

_"Tell you what, you can beat me up, and I won't have to hurt you, okay?"_

_"…That's a strange proposition… but okay, deal!"_

_"Wrong."_

_"Huh?" Before she could register what was going on, Chris flung her onto her bed that was halfway across the room. "Hey! No fair! How'd you do that? And what was that for!?"_

_"The right answer was 'What if you get hurt?' not 'Okay.'"_

_"How was I supposed to know!?"_

_"We're friends, and friends don't hurt each other… badly."_

_"But you're the one who made the offer!"_

_"I wanted to see what you were going to say."_

_"You're mean." Ann pouted._

_"Come on, I really will fight you. Just don't take it too far?" Chris gave a rare smile._

* * *

"Heh, the good times…" he mumbled, half sarcastically. 

He thought once more. He remembered a time when Ann's mom gave him a paopu fruit.

* * *

Gods, I love the flashback at the beginning of this chapter :3. Revealing more about the characters! And look, dialogue from the game! And wow, I have my own cliché cave with drawings. How unoriginal. But hey, this was written way back then. I just edited it slightly because I got better at writing. 

I'm not sure how Chris managed to fling Ann across the room when he was eleven when that strength doesn't really show up later on. Either that or Ann used to be REALLY light (but twice or so is she called heavy… the second time has yet to appear!). I still love those flashbacks. Kid Chris and Ann are cute :3.

R&R!


	4. Traverse Town, Enter the Keybearer

Strange. This is the last chapter with a flashback in it. WTF happened? How come I didn't put flashbacks in the future chapters?? Maybe it's 'cause I got better at writing and just stopped putting them in for some reason. I HAVE NO IDEA.

**Chapter 3: Traverse Town, Enter The Keybearer**

_"Here you go, son." Ann's mother smiled as she handed Chris a yellow star-shaped fruit._

_"What's this?" A very young Chris asked._

_"On the island I came from, these were everywhere. It's called a paopu fruit."_

_"Oh yeah, I forgot you just got here."_

_"Yes, my job has kept me busy, but now I'm here with my husband. And daughter, of course." Ann's mother winked._

_"What's a paopu fruit for? Is it good?"_

_"Legend says that when two people share it, their destinies become entwined. Forever." Ann's mom said, "And I've heard so much about you from Ann! It's cute." She smiled._

* * *

Chris didn't know exactly what she meant by that statement. He looked down at the fruit in his hand, not knowing what to do with it. 

Chris opened his eyes after that flashback. He had forgotten what he did with that fruit.

Picking up a sharp rock that was left there from years ago, he began to carve a picture. He didn't want to, but he couldn't help it. He drew Ann next to an old portrait of himself that the girl drew. He still had a very sloppy drawing style. He cursed at himself, but laughed at himself seconds later.

Then, he drew a paopu fruit next to Ann, and an arm holding it. The arm came from the drawing of Chris. It looked odd, since that picture was old, and the one he drew was new.

He didn't really care. He knew no one would see this picture. Ann hated water, and he knew she would never come here. Ever again.

He sighed, placing the rock back in its original place. Then he looked around. It was eerily quiet and dark. Though he didn't mind the darkness, he was afraid of it for some reason.

He stood up, wandering further into the cave. He'd never been further than those pictures before, so he was curious to find out.

The pathway was long, he didn't know when the suspense was going to end. How far _did_ it go?

He used the wall as guidance, his hand tracing it absently so he wouldn't bump into anything.

Then he hit a dead end. Literally. He rubbed his nose, which was flattened by the wall in front of him. No, it wasn't a wall. It felt like wood.

Why was wood in a cave? Impossible. Chris felt the wood. It was arched in the shape of a door. It _was_ a door. If only he had light to see what it really was.

Maybe he'd bring a flashlight tomorrow, he yawned. He was tired now, and he figured it was best to get home before it got really late.

He ran back to the pool of water that was the exit. He slipped in, feeling a bit chilly. He took a breath of stale air and submerged, swimming and getting to the surface again.

He took a breath of fresh, cool night air, looking up.

He gasped when he saw the sky was gray and there was a large swirling vortex high in the air. "What in the world…?" he wondered, swimming back to shore. There was barely anything, except for the numerous shadows around that he had a mind to avoid. He saw Sora and Riku, being engulfed. What was that about?

"Ann!" Chris called, ignoring everything. He ran up to higher ground, dodging various shadows along the way, and found Ann there, staring up at the hole in the sky.

"Ann! Ann…" He looked at her, she look at him, her icy eyes showed signs of worry.

"Chris! You're here! I got so worried when the storm appeared, I thought you wouldn't come home!" She ran over to him, but she seemed weak.

"Ann, we have to get out of here." Chris looked around for any source of transport. Of course there was nothing, they were nowhere.

"How?"

"Run." He said, grabbing her arm and the two of them ran to the lower ground.

"Chris…" Ann moaned behind him, he glanced back. "I'm tired…"

"Thanks for admitting it, but please, Ann, keep up your strength! We have to get out of here. I don't know what's going on, but it's dangerous!" Chris only assumed.

Ann only half listened, her body broke down and refused to operate for her.

"Ann!" He stopped, kneeling beside her.

"I'm trying…" Her eyes were wet as she tried to keep up with everything.

Suddenly Ann felt as if she was being lifted. The winds got stronger and began to pick them up, trying to suck them into the vortex.

"Ann!" Chris reached out for her hand, grabbing hold of it. He held on tightly. _I won't lose you! Not again!_ He was on the verge of tears.

Ann's grip wasn't very tight. He tried to hang on to the ground, his fingers digging into the dirt. But somehow, he was forced into the air, his green hair whipping his face. He tried his best to hang onto Ann, but their grips loosened on each other.

Ann and Chris reached out for each other, but the winds violently tore them further and further apart. Ann fell unconscious, and Chris was swallowed by darkness only seconds after.

* * *

_Where am I? Where are you?_

_I can't see you… in all this darkness…._

_How long have I been here? Where are you going?_

_What is this… feeling? I feel something…. There's something else too. Something… dark._

_Where are we? How long have we been here?_

* * *

"WHERE THE HELL AM I!?" A boy screamed, getting strange looks from the few people around him. No one answered, and the boy continued to curse. 

The boy looked like an average fifteen-year-old, wearing red clothes and black and white boots and accessories. His spiky hair was a stunningly bright shade of red with a tint of blond at his roots and his eyes were aqua-green.

He felt like he was in a dream. One second he was in his house, the next—in the middle of a town and he had no idea what it was.

He looked up, screaming like hell again. Another star went out right above him. "Wh-what?" He looked, there was a tiny shooting star in the distance, and it was one that looked like it had been standing still for a while. It grew closer and closer, until he suddenly realized it was heading right towards him. "Wah!" He tried jumping out of the way as the thing crashed into the ground, or rather, him.

"GET THIS FREAKIN' THING OFFA ME!" The boy yelled, not realizing it was an unconscious girl he was screaming at. Then he realized it was human.

He looked at the girl that landed on him. Brown spiky hair, dark colored clothing, dangerous looking boots, bandaged hands.

"Is it dead…?" He wondered, "Hey, wake up." He shoved her off, grunting. "Heavy bitch…" He looked at her, she still wasn't awake. "Yo, wake up!" He frowned.

He began processing his thoughts. A girl fell from the sky, almost knocked him out, was already knocked out or something, and now she was waking up.

He stared. She was waking up?

"Hell, I guess I'm responsible now." The boy muttered.

The girl blinked, staring back at him. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"How the hell should I know? You're the one falling on people from space." The boy snapped. Then he sighed, unnoticing of the girl's dark and confused expression. "Name's Alex. You?"

The girl brightened. "I'm Ann."

"Okay. Good. If you're old enough to take care of yourself, do that. I'm out of here." Alex grumbled, turning.

He stopped when he saw a bunch of shadows in front of him. He slapped the side of his forehead lightly. "Aw shit…"

"You have a serious problem, you know that?" Ann judged, even though she'd only known this boy for a few minutes.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Alex growled, swiping his hand at his side. In his palm he manifested a large black and white key with a strange key chain on the end.

Ann blinked, amazed. What was that thing?

Alex raced forward, slashing the shadowed creatures mercilessly. "What the heck are you waiting for!? Get the hell out of here!"

Ann frowned, jumping to dodge a shadow creature at her feet. "No way! I can fight too!"

"Pfft. You're a freakin' girl!" Alex argued, not watching Ann.

He stopped and turned when he heard a crashing sound. Ann was kicking the shadowy things far away. Some that jumped at her got a taste of her fist too.

"What's this about being a 'freakin' girl'?" Ann smirked, putting a hand on her hip as she leaned back a little.

"Watch out!" Alex swiped at a larger creature behind her. He grabbed her wrist. "There are too many. Let's get the hell out of here!"

Letting him pull her as she ran, not exactly knowing where they were going, she commented on his language, "Heh, you can't go ten seconds without cursing, can you?"

Ignoring her, Alex ran. As he pulled her wrist, it began to hurt her. It reminded her of the way Chris pulled her.

"Chris!"

"What?"

"My friend. Do you know where my friend is?" Ann asked as they ran.

"Hell no. But apparently I don't care about shit." Alex said, slowing as they came to another district.

Panting, the duo looked around. No shadows to be found. "Whew. Safe."

"Chris! Chris, where are you!?" Ann called.

"Another Keyblade, huh?" A third voice entered.

"Key… blade?"

"How the hell do you know what this is? Who the heck are you?" Alex demanded.

There was a brown haired man in front of them, he was wearing black leather and a white undershirt, and there was a scar running across his face.

"I doubt you know much about it yourself. In fact, we just found a kid just like you a while ago."

"What the hell are you talking about!?"

"Actually, I'm surprised there's another Keybearer. Maybe Aerith will know more about this then me." The man continued.

"Who the hell are you!? Quit ignoring us!" Alex readied his Keyblade.

"Call me Leon."

Alex calmed, but still held tight to the hilt of the Keyblade. "Finally. Now, tell me all you know about this," Alex held out the blade, "and those _things_ that attacked us."

"The Keyblade and the Heartless."

"Um…" Ann interrupted, not following their conversation really well, "if you don't mind, can you tell us where we are? And… if you've seen my friend?"

* * *

Not a big fan of the flashback at the beginning. And look, more cliché stuff that happened in the real game. I'm pathetic! T.T 

I like that little part after those two got sucked into the Heartless vortex though. I bet you're wondering what the heck it was. Well, the timeline for their arrival was different than Sora's. They arrived later, so basically they were floating in this darkness meanwhile, and they stayed there for a while till Alex showed up at Traverse. It's kinda my only explanation to the fact that they start later than Sora. WHY they start later than Sora? Um, well, that'll be explained in the next chapter. …Maybe.

And I'm aware there isn't supposed to be cursing in KH. But you know what? I don't care! (Evil-ish grin) I love the interaction between Alex and Ann: both are sarcastic, tough teens. What do you expect when two of the same type clash? Oh! And the appearance of the second "heavy" comment! (Read the last chapter's commentary if you don't get it.)

Alex is Cassie's favorite character, mostly 'cause he curses. Since she read the entire thing (or at least the first draft), she totally spazzed about his personality and all in future chapters. She says he's like her . God, I love spazzing with her. And Alex is so much fun to make fun of (mostly cursing jokes. But still funny!). Oh yeah, Alex is my other brother's (Andy's) character. He originally didn't curse, but when I was writing this chapter, I think I was in the stage of the year where I was cursing like crazy. Don't ask.

I. Cannot. Write. Official. Characters. Seriously. That's why I stuck to OCs. Read & Review!


	5. A Catty Mage

Sorry for not updating for so long, everybody! X( I've been busy…. Okay, so maybe I CAN'T steadily update this… but I'll try to update whenever I can, okay :)

Nya! I freakin' love this chapter! Seriously, though, the first line originally didn't have "nya" in it. This was the chapter I stopped at! I ended at the words "brown eyes." If you notice the characters (Chris and Ann to be exact) change a bit at this point, that's 'cause this was written after my writing improvement. Read on!

**Chapter 4: A Catty Mage, A Reunion, And Three New Heroes**

"La-la-la-la-la, nya…" A girl sang cheerily, brushing her blonde hair out of her brown eyes. "Let's see… nothing very interesting here today, nya." She sounded disappointed, walking out of her home in Third District. Her ears twitched at every interesting sound and her tail wagged from side to side slowly.

"Teacher isn't home yet, nya…. Maybe Yuffie will play with me," She decided, and was about to enter Second District. Just as she was leaving, she suddenly walked backwards, stopped, and turned. There, lying still on the ground was a green haired boy. She walked over to him, getting on her tiptoes and leaning over him slightly as if she could get a better look that way. She cocked her head at him, crouching.

"Uhnnn…." He moaned, his eyes opening slowly.

The girl grinned. "HI!" She said loudly and cheerfully.

"Uwah—!" Chris sat strait up in an instant, causing the girl to jump back.

The girl blinked and cocked her head again, then asked, "Are you okay…? Nya."

Chris looked around, then at the girl, his eyes staring at her in disbelief. "Where am I? Where's Ann?" He asked the first questions that came to mind, and then, "Are those real?" He indicated the girl's ears and tail.

The girl laughed, standing and helping Chris up. "Of course they are, silly! Why wouldn't they be, nya?" Chris could see she wore a blue tunic and pants with plenty of silver and gold designs and some zippers on them, along with a tall hat that had a silver star hanging on the bent-over point. Out of her blonde head stuck two cat ears to match, the pink of her ears contrasting well with her rosy cheeks. Behind her was a blonde cat tail, and in her hands was a short stick like a cross between a wand and a staff. She looked about nine years old.

"Um… no reason."

"You don't see my kind of people where you come from, huh, nya?" The girl smiled up at him and he could see she had cat fangs.

Chris suddenly realized she hadn't answered his questions. "So where am I? Have you seen my friend around? She's about this tall and has brown hair and really dangerous looking boots?" He indicated her height by raising his hand in a horizontal position.

"You're in Traverse Town! The town were all those who don't have a world to return to go, nya!" The girl said cheerily as if she had said it a million times before. "And I just came out here, so I haven't seen anyone around." Chris' expression changed. "I could help you look though, nya."

"Thanks. Um… What do you mean by 'don't have a world to return to'?"

"When the Heartless take over a world, certain people are sent here! You must be really strong, because mostly only strong people show up." Chris looked at her grimly. "Oops. I guess you don't know about Heartless or other worlds yet, nya…."

"Yeah… I can only guess Heartless are those living black shadows that attacked my island?"

"Yup!"

"…So where's my friend?"

"Oh, well, let's go to the other Districts and see if we can find her. I'll explain about the Heartless and everything on the way, nya." _Maybe I shouldn't tell him his friend might not be here…_ "What's your name, anyway? I'm Kristy, nya!"

"My name is Chris."

* * *

"Hmm… I dunno if I've seen a green haired kid around. I'll go take a look for ya!" Yuffie smiled, jumping up and heading out the door.

"Err… Thanks?" Yuffie didn't even hear Ann as the dark-haired ninja left. Behind Ann, Leon, Aerith, and Alex were talking about the Keyblade.

"So I gotta go to a bunch of freakin' worlds and lock them with this huge-ass key?"

"You're the Keybearer. Why am I not surprised it chose you?" Leon shook his head, getting a glare that said 'what-do-you-mean-by-that' from Alex. He continued, not caring what look Alex gave him, "Sora is already going to many worlds, why don't you go to the ones he's not going to?"

Ann's ears perked. "Sora?" She turned around. "Do you mean a brown-haired kid that wears red?"

"Yeah. How did you know?" Leon raised an eyebrow at her.

"We used to live on the same island. Where is he?"

"I don't know. I'd say he's at Olympus Coliseum by now."

"Olympus Coliseum?"

"It's a world, just like Traverse," Aerith explained.

Alex tapped his foot impatiently. "Hello? I'm still here."

"Ah, yes. Well, when you set off, you will need teammates to back you up, like Sora has the King's friends." The woman in a pink dress said.

"King?"

"The King knew of the Heartless coming so he set off on a journey to other worlds like Sora."

"We didn't expect another Keybearer to show up. Your Onyx Keyblade is unique, though…" Leon was interrupted by a scream from outside of the hotel. They all looked at each other and headed outside.

* * *

"Yuffie!" Kristy ran forward.

"Huh?" Chris looked from Kristy to the approaching girl.

"Hey, kitty!" The girl with short hair said. "Hey, do you know where I can find a green haired kid?" She clearly didn't notice Chris staring at her behind Kristy.

Kristy looked behind her, and Yuffie followed her gaze. "Oh, hi! I'm Yuffie!" Chris nodded in greeting, "You have green hair. Are you looking for the new girl?"

"The new—? Oh, I think she means your friend, Chris!"

"Ann? You know where Ann is?"

"Yup! She asked me to find ya! Now that I found ya, let's go get her!" Yuffie grinned, turning around and preparing to march back to where she came from.

Just as she took her first step, shadows formed on the ground. "Heartless!"

The three of them took a battle stance, Yuffie taking out her large four-point star shaped weapon, Chris grabbed the Jade Blade off his belt, and Kristy readied her staff.

One of the civilians screamed, fleeing. One of the Heartless went after her, and Chris witnessed the creation of a Heartless. The Heartless reached into the lady's chest, pulling out a shining heart-shaped light. There was a flash and the heart disappeared, and the body of the lady was now replaced by a Heartless.

"Chris, watch out!" Kristy called, pulling Chris back into his own situation. He hadn't realized the battle started. He was in mid-turn when a beam of lightning shot by him, incinerating the Heartless Soldier that was approaching him. He saw another shining heart float into the air, fading away.

"Thanks!" He called to Kristy, and then attacked a small Heartless near him. He didn't even ask what she just did; he figured it would be best to focus on the battle.

Nearby, another group just entered the battle. Alex, his black Keyblade in hand, swiped at a number of Shadow Heartless all at once, while Leon's massive Gunblade took a toll on a group of Soldiers, and Ann sent the Heartless flying.

After the last Heartless was finished, the two groups finally noticed each other.

"Ann!" Chris ran over to the girl, who was panting from their short fight.

"Chris!"

"Hey, new girl, I found your boyfriend!" Both Ann and Chris looked over to Yuffie with a blank expression, blushing slightly.

"Yuffie, you mustn't be rude." Aerith reminded her. Yuffie opened her mouth to say something, but something changed her mind. "Apologize."

"Sorry, new kids…."

"No harm done." Chris replied, looking at the others.

"So… What the hell am I supposed to do now?" Alex suddenly asked.

"Go to other worlds. Kristy here will accompany you." Leon said, motioning to the cat child.

"What!? That little freak?" Alex glared at her, but she just looked innocently back at him.

"Believe it or not, Alex, Kristy is a very experienced magician. She can help you on your journey a lot." Aerith gave Kristy a push in Alex's direction.

"Oh, like hell I'm gonna travel with a purring little kid!"

"Cool it, big boy. And watch your language, nya." Kristy grinned and tilted her staff in his direction, casting the freezing spell "Blizzard". Chris couldn't even blink before Alex was encased in a block of ice from the neck down.

"The hell!? Lemme outta here!"

"You better get used to it, Kristy. He'll curse no matter what you do." Leon said, "Now release him. You never know when more Heartless are going to appear so we'd all better be prepared, especially him."

"Oh, so now I'm special!?"

"Alright, nya." Kristy tapped the ice with her staff and cast "Fire". Alex was now all wet and felt something like a cross between warm and cold. "By the way, Aerith, I'm not a 'very experienced magician,' I'm still a mage-in-training, nya."

"Yes, which reminds me, if you choose to help Alex on his adventure, I'll inform your teacher where you are once he gets back, okay?"

"Okay! I want to go with Alex, nya! It could be a good experience."

"G-great…." Alex muttered sarcastically through chattering teeth.

"La-la-la-la-la, nya…." Kristy began singing again as she skipped around, then headed back towards Third District. "I'm going to go get some things for the journey! I'll be back soon, nya!"

"Kristy isn't enough, so you'll need one more team member." Leon said, looking towards Alex, who was drying off.

"What about this kid, Squall?" Yuffie asked, jabbing a thumb in Chris' direction. Leon walked over to them and looked at Chris carefully. "He's old enough to take care of himself and the other two, and he seems to be a really good fighter."

"M-me?" Chris was surprised, "I just got here, I don't even know you people, and you're just going to send me off?"

"It's your choice. Besides, I'm sure you'll be good friends with them." Aerith said.

"What about Ann?" He looked at her. She was talking to Alex a little far off and didn't seem to hear them. "Can she come with us?"

"She was really tired after one fight…. She's kinda weak. But we'll take good care of her, don't you worry. Traverse Town is the safest place around!" Yuffie smiled.

Chris thought about it. Going to new worlds, fighting Heartless, doing all sorts of things he never imagined… and Ann wasn't going to be there. She was going to stay in a world where people protected her, and he wouldn't have to worry about loosing her. Not again.

"I'll do it."

* * *

Kristy is my favorite character! Though her role is minor compared to Chris, I love her :3! She's so cute, ne? This is Amanda's character. Originally she didn't have cat ears and tail. Seriously. Really, after I rebooted this story, I just wanted a character that I can make go "nya" (and later on, my favorite saying shows up which she says, but you'll see that WAY later) 'cause it's cute and I was in this phase where I kept making cat noises. But it worked out so freakin' well for the story! Especially when Chris went "are those real?" XD. She's so cheerful and innocent. I love her (I already said that…)! It's so easy to write as her (later on too) 'cause she's younger than me and I've been her age before (unlike Chris and Alex! Who are both boys and/or older than me!). What's a bit of a creepy coincidence is that Amanda (Amanda's other character, the mascot of my website) and Kristy are both cat girls and are sort of the same age!

And sorry for the bad pun when Kristy said "cool it" and cast a freezing spell. I didn't realize till later after reading that part again I realized that it was a bad pun. Gomen!

Once again, I say I cannot do official characters. That's why I fail to describe them. :( I don't know why I cant! Maybe it's 'cause the way I write it, you'd have to had played the game to understand it, even though there are some parts that are completely confusing (which, by the way, you can ask me about if you are!). R&R, please!


	6. The Journey Begins

Sorry I haven't updated in so long! My computer went boom the weekend I was gonna update, so I didn't get a chance….

Revealing more about Kristy! Hey, where the heck did her staff go? I love her cute clueless innocence in this chapter. I'm surprised I didn't make Alex rub off on anyone. Kristy's a smart girl! Hehe. And Ann reflects me a little when she calls Kristy cute. What more can I say?

**Chapter 5: The Journey Begins**

The group headed towards Cid's workshop. Kristy walked her usual walk, looking childish, innocent, and absent-minded. She looked up at Chris, who was beside her talking to Ann. She smiled, then she walked a bit faster, catching up to Alex.

"Why do you curse so much?" She asked.

"Why the heck do you care?"

"What about all the slang?"

"Bug off, cat."

"I'm a Neko, nya."

"Mm? The hell is that?"

"My species!"

"Yeah, well, screw you. I'm human. I was born human and was raised human, nothing to it."

"So what happened to your world?"

"I dunno. It feels like something outta a video game. One day I'm normal as can be, the next day life's a living hell. It's all 'cause of some freakin' weird dream that I have a Keyblade, and some Heartless are out and ruining my life."

"What's a vid-ee-yo game, nya?"

"Oh come on!" Alex dragged his hand down his face. "Never mind." Kristy looked at him, cocking her head, then she went over and talked to Yuffie. "Damn kid. They've got cat ears, cat tails, _magic_, for crying out freakin' loud, and they have no sense of technology except for lights. Geez."

When the group arrived at the shop, Yuffie called out, "Yo Cid! Ya here?"

"What is it now?" The blond man named Cid appeared, looking a bit grumpy.

"There's another Keybearer. We're sending them to other worlds, so they need a ship." Leon said.

"What? Okay, well, I'll see what I can do. Give me an hour, tops."

"Why don't we explain their mission?" Aerith asked Leon.

"Good idea."

* * *

"Got it. Go to the worlds, find the Keyhole, seal it, and get out of there." 

"And we can't disturb the world order." Kristy reminded Alex.

"I know, I know. You don't hafta tell me twice."

"We'll contact you every now and then to see how you're doing. If you run into Sora and the others, work with them." Leon said. "You've got a little time left. Go stock up on potions or something." With that his group left first district.

"Nya! I already have everything I need!" Kristy said proudly to no one in particular.

"Potions? What the hell?"

"Oh… I know! I'll tell you about all the magic stuff since you seem dumb!"

"What was that?" Alex glared at the innocent Kristy.

They went off, and Ann and Chris were alone. "The little cat kid is kind of cute, huh, Chris? Isn't it cool that they get to have an adventure?"

"Uh… Ann… I'm going with them."

"What? Cool! We'll get to go on an adventure now, too! All that playing will pay off!"

"Ann, _I'm_ going. This isn't a game. Things are a lot more difficult now."

"What are you talking about? A new challenge never hurt anyone!"

"Ann, you don't understand! I'm going… without you. I always want you with me, but not this time, okay? I need you to stay here with Leon and the others. They'll take care of you."

"Chris, I can fight too! I'm not a weak little girl like those stereotypes! Let me go with you, please!"

"Ann, you can't!" Chris yelled at her, blinking away tears. "I want you to stay here so you'll be safe! If you're with me, I never know what will happen. I don't know if I'll let my guard down and you get hurt. I'll never forgive myself if you get hurt because of me! I can't promise your safety."

"Chris! What if _you_ get hurt!? How will I know!? Don't think you're the only person here, I matter too! I want to be there to protect you! So let me protect you!"

Chris was shocked. He had never heard Ann talk like this before… in a long time. His shoulders slumped, he looked down to the ground. Ann grinned a little. She thought he had given in, that she would be able to go.

"I'm sorry, Ann." It was Ann's turn to be surprised. She watched as he removed the locket that hung around his neck and gave it to her.

_Why did he do that? He always wears this. It's the most precious thing in the world to him… wait, why is it precious…?_

"Keep it safe. It's my promise that I'll return. I'll come back for you, then we can go home… together."

"Chris…" Ann stared at him, at the locket in her palm, then she looked up, her face angry and her eyes holding back tears. "I'm still coming!"

"Stop being so stubborn!" Chris was getting frustrated. "Look, as much as I would like you to come, it's not my decision!" He calmed. Arguing was getting them nowhere, and it was leading to something Chris was going to regret—if Ann begrudged him.

"…I don't ever want to leave your side, so keep that locket for me. Since we'll be apart, we can become lonely. If we ever feel lonely… all we have to do is look up to the stars. Every place shares the same sky." How much it pained him to say those words again. The last words exchanged during the promise night. He said it to the Ann he loved when he was a child. And now he was saying to a new Ann, one who still managed to capture his heart, no matter how much she changed.

Ann felt something in her heart when those words were spoken. There was something familiar about them. What was it that hit her so hard?

"Hey, Chris! Time to go!" Kristy called, she and Alex had just gotten back.

"Promise me you'll stay safe. Please." Chris begged in a whisper, then said to her, "I'll be going now."

Ann wanted to say something, but chocked on her own words. She nodded once and was left standing there as Chris walked away.

* * *

Just as they boarded the ship and took off with Kristy in the pilot's seat, they saw another ship land. "That must be the other Keybearer's ship." Kristy commented. 

"Why the hell do you get to drive? Do you even have a freakin' driver's license?" Alex asked, bored as he sat slumped in his own seat behind his other two teammates.

"I know how to operate the Gummi ship, that's why. So unless you can tell me something I don't know, be quiet, please, nya." The Neko said, chin up.

"Okay. You don't know what a driver's license is." Kristy was silent, dumbfounded.

"It's something you need to drive a vehicle. I doubt you even have one, Alex." Chris stated, he was sitting in the co-pilot's seat. It was Alex's turn to be silent. "…So how do you drive this… Gummi ship, Kristy?"

"Hey!" Cid's face was projected onto the window in front of them. All three nearly jumped in surprise. "You kids alright? You know how to fly?"

"Yes sir! I was about to teach these guys how to operate this ship, nya." Kristy saluted cheerfully.

"Good. You do know where you're going, right?" There was silence, again. "You don't have a navigation Gummi, so I'd suggest you keep an eye out."

"Then get your face off the freakin' screen, pops! We can't see anything!"

"Don't call me pops!"

"Hey, Cid, don't worry! I've got it all covered! We don't need sight to see a world, nya." Kristy grinned.

"How so, magi-cat?"

"Well, I was working on a project before we left, nya. She's operational so we can use her. I never thought I'd be using her though, I was going to give her to the other Keybearer when I first heard he arrived, but now I can use her on my journey, nya!" She took off her hat as she was explaining, and everyone watched curiously as she reached into it and pulled out a small white cat with blue eyes and set it on the ground. It was an adult, everyone could tell despite its abnormally small size, and it had a blue bow collar around its neck with a bell on it.

"Huh. I always wondered where you carried everything." Cid commented. Chris nodded, wondering if the hat was enchanted with some sort of magical spell.

"A cat? Another _cat_?" Alex glared at it, "How the hell is that supposed to help on this road trip?"

"It's not a road trip, it's a journey to save the worlds." Everyone but Kristy looked around, looking for the owner of the new adult female voice.

"Who said that?" Chris wondered.

"I did," The white cat jumped up onto the ledge of the controls table, sitting down on it. Everyone stared at it, Kristy grinned.

"This is Mary Belle. Belle is a genetically enhanced feline with the mind of a super-computer, nya." Kristy explained.

"So I suppose she's going to be your navigator?" Cid asked, and without waiting for an answer he said, "Good. You're all settled. Good luck." With that the projection disappeared.

Chris stared at Mary Belle. "Are you some sort of scientist, Kristy? Because where I come from only mad scientists mess with animals…."

"Nope. Mary Belle landed at Traverse with me, nya. I just happened to understand Cat," Kristy said proudly, "and she told me she was willing to be part of my project. My project was to enhance animals so that they could be as intelligent as humans and Nekos. I couldn't do it at first because I came to love Belle, nya, so I couldn't use her for the project until I knew the spell I cast would work without any negative side effects. When I heard about the Keybearer, I adjusted the spell enough to make her into a living database, which was actually more advanced than I had originally anticipated. The only side effect I see is size reduction in the test subject, nya. It isn't all that bad and it's a better spell then what I wanted at first, nya."

"Wow. You must be really smart, Kristy." Chris complimented.

"Teacher would be proud." Kristy smiled toothily.

"The next worlds won't show up for a while. I suggest you all sit back and relax." Mary Belle said, switching from a processing trance where her eyes reflected many numbers and letters to normal tiny talking cat, her snow-white tail swishing behind her. "Auto pilot is set on." She added.

"Why don't we get to know each other? If we're going on a journey together." Chris suggested.

"Why not? Besides, you two look interesting, nya." Kristy purred, getting into a comfortable position, not unlike Mary Belle's.

"Oh hell… Get ready for the most boring grandma tales of my life…." The wielder of the Keyblade mumbled, clearly uninterested in talking about himself.

* * *

Wow. Ann and Chris in an argument! I had fun writing that. They care SO much about each other! Then Chris decides to leave ;;. As Cassie calls it, it be a twisted romance! …yeah… did I just spoil something? I'm not sure… 

Gummi ships! I love the dialogue that takes place when they first take off. And introducing the last journey-long character! (Drum-roll) Maaaaary Belle! I love Belle. She's so cool. If only I could draw her correctly, like what I envision in my head!

Read & Review!


	7. Coming to the Darkness

Wah! Sorry I haven't updated in so long!! Gomen gomen gomen!! I was so caught up in school and stuff I didn't even have time to keep my bi-weekly post promise! X( I'm sorry! Well, it's winter break now, so I'll update a few times to make up for not posting anything since… September, I think it was! So, here comes chapters 6-9 for ya :3

Did I tell you all that I plan on making select parts of this fanfic into an animation? Maybe I'll make a manga version too!

I freakin' love this chapter. The scene where Ann is calling for Chris is one I have a perfect vision for an animation! It's kinda the reason why I want to animate some parts. It was the start of it, at least. I think this was the part I wanted to get to the most when I started writing the fanfic again after I stopped for months.

**Chapter 6: Coming To The Darkness**

Back in Traverse Town, Ann still stood in the same spot, staring blankly at the place Chris was just standing, as if he were still there. _Look up to the stars…_ There were no stars. What did she have to look up at? The light?

When she finally snapped out of it, it was quickly getting late, though one wouldn't be able to tell since the sky in Traverse town always stayed dark. She blinked, looking up at the night sky, slowly being dotted with tiny bright stars… worlds, actually. Who would've thought?

"Hmph. Who needs him?" She said to no one. She turned around, starting to walk to the inn and putting on the locket she still had in her hand. "I guess I better go find Leon." She paused, "No, I can take care of myself. But I do need a place to stay…." She decided on finding the group. She walked a little before stopping when she saw Heartless form before her.

"Oh no…" She couldn't fight them alone. She looked around at all of them, dozens surrounded her. "Chris…" She called, as if he'd come and save her, "Chris…?" She called his name once again, louder. The Heartless jumped, she screamed and the birds in the area flew off squawking. "CHRIS HELP ME!"

* * *

Ann punched out the head of one Heartless, it's bloodless body fading. More kept coming at her endlessly. When the numbers diminished to only a few, she was panting hard and could barely stand. A Soldier Heartless jumped at her, it's clawed hand outstretched, and she was paralyzed. She couldn't move her arms and legs to evade or block the attack. Her eyes widened as the darkness impacted with her chest. 

Her eyes began to glaze over, becoming blank as she gave in to the Heartless. _I guess this is the end…. I won't be able to see Chris…._ She could feel the Heartless' grip on her heart, pulling at her chest. She felt like she was being ripped apart all over, a burning sensation tingled in her veins. Her eyes flashed for a moment when she suddenly remembered she made a promise to stay safe. She saw the locket glint and remembered that she had to return it.

"No…." The Heartless looked at her, as if confused and surprised she was still alive. "No!" Her hands dashed to the Heartless' wrist, twisting its arm so much that the claw lodged in her chest broke from its branch. That was enough to make it fade, and her heart sunk back into its rightful place, and the dark claw that held it tight began to melt around the parts it touched and fuse with it.

"I won't let you… take my heart." She whispered threateningly as she fell to her knees, trying desperately to keep consciousness. The other remaining Heartless fled for some reason, and Ann gave in to her fatigue, her body crashing to the ground on the spot, just as she saw a silhouette in front of her.

"…Chris…?" She managed to call out, barely above a whisper. The figure crouched down next to her, a hand reaching down to her face. She smiled slightly when she heard her name, and blacked out.

* * *

"Ann?" Riku reached down and touched her cheek. It was as cold as ice. 

"My, my. What an interesting one. She barely survived the weakest of my army." Maleficent looked at the white-haired boy next to her. "I can already see her potential. She would make a fine addition to our group, wouldn't you say, Riku?'

Riku looked up at Maleficent confusedly, not understanding why she would call Ann weak and then say she would be part of her group. "I don't know." He replied to her question.

"She will be your partner. Wouldn't it be nice to have a friend around?" Maleficent smirked. Riku was just abandoned by Sora moments ago. Was she just teasing him? He didn't even know Ann well.

"I don't know." Riku replied again, "And how do you know she will join our side?"

"Oh, don't worry, dear. She will. I'm positive," Maleficent said mysteriously, "Hurry up and bring her along," She urged, turning around and preparing to open a dark portal.

Riku looked at the unconscious girl from Destiny Island. He picked her up with some effort and followed Maleficent into the dark portal.

* * *

Ann's eyes flickered open slowly. She could only see blurs through her half-asleep eyes. A shadow fell over her. Or was it already dark? 

"…Ann…?" She heard a voice, and she suddenly realized someone was with her. She sat up as quickly as her sore muscles would let her, still half-blind, and collided with that person.

It woke her up completely when she found that she was lip-locked with a white haired boy with bright aqua eyes. She blinked a few times. He was familiar… she knew this boy! Then she realized she could still feel his warm lips, he seemed to realize it too. Their eyes widening, they separated quickly. Her arms still holding her at an angle as she looked away, her face pink as she looked at a stone wall. That was not what she had in mind for a first kiss.

"…Sorry." She heard the boy say. She knew his name. It was Riku.

Riku was blushing too, the icy feeling of the other girl's lips slowly fading from his own. That was not what he was expecting to happen when he saw Ann was waking up. He just happened to be in the wrong position, that's all. It was an accident, he assured himself, and stopped himself from turning another shade of red.

"…Riku…?" Riku turned back to Ann, she was sitting strait up with her hands on the blanket on her lap and staring at him. "Where am I? Am I in Traverse Town?"

"No. This is Hollow Bastion." Riku answered coolly.

"Hollow… What? How did I get here? I need to get back to Traverse Town! I need to wait for…"

"Shut up for a second, Ann." Riku said, and Ann promptly closed her mouth. "I brought you here," Ann looked like she was about to ask why, "because—"

"I see the girl has awakened." Maleficent said as she entered the room.

Riku looked over at the witch, continuing monotonously, "Maleficent told me to."

Ann looked at Maleficent, shivering slightly at the sight of green skin, horns, and black clothing. A very evil aura surrounded her, and Ann could feel it.

"My dear, I am the witch Maleficent. Tell me, is something bothering you?" The boy in blue and yellow looked at her. Was this part of her plan to lead Ann to the dark side?

"I don't have anything bothering me." Ann said, crossing her arms stubbornly.

"Oh, my dear, you do. I can tell. Does it have to do something with this 'Chris' you keep talking about in your sleep? About him leaving you?" Maleficent's voice sounded venomous.

"…What about it?"

"Don't you want to seek revenge on him for leaving you behind? He abandoned you so easily. He could have easily turned down the offer to go on that quest with the new Keybearer. He didn't. He didn't even let you go with him."

"What's your point lady? We always have disagreements like that and I know his motive." Ann stared at the witch.

This wasn't going as Maleficent planned. "You do know he thinks you're weak? That's why they won't let you go. That's why those people chose him and not you. Don't you want to be stronger? Don't you want to prove to them your power?"

"…Yeah…." Ann held an interest.

"Then come to our side. I will grant your power. In fact, you already have some of it in you." Maleficent smirked.

"I do?" Ann asked, surprised.

"Of course, my dear. You are one of the first I have seen to be directly attacked by a Heartless and survive. You have a very strong will, and I see much potential in you. You can become stronger than anyone, as long as you keep working with us."

"I'll do it."

"Welcome to the team, Ann." Riku said from his corner in the room.

"Well then, I'll leave you to prepare for your first assignment." Maleficent said, leaving the room.

"What assignment?" Ann wondered out loud.

"You're going to be my partner, Ann. We're going to Agrabah." Riku handed her a green colored potion and gauntlet-like weapons. It was indigo at the gloves and had gold brace-like metal that extended down her arm and there was a sheath melded onto the bottom side with a retractable silver blade sticking out of it that extended a little beyond her elbow.

"Uh… thanks." She said, gulping down the potion. She felt a tingle in every sore muscle, and for a moment she felt a shock, but it passed and she felt refreshed.

Putting on her usual tough face, she turned to Riku. "When do we leave and what do we do?"

* * *

Riku shows up! Yay! …Don't kill me! This is not a RikuxOC fanfic! I just added that part 'cause I thought it was cute! Don't flame meeee! I swear, there won't be anymore fluff or whatnot! Ann does NOT love Riku, nor does he love her! That was just some awkward situation that I wanted to put in! I have no idea why! Even though it's sorta why I wanted to write this chapter, it's not the point! This is just the beginning of a friendly bond. Yeah. Um… yeah. …I like putting my characters in awkward situations? I'm evil… 

There are a lot of unnecessary time-skips (erm, those spaces in between different parts) in this chapter… I wonder why…? I dunno… I guess it's cause if this was an anime or something there'd be a blackout between the part where Ann calls for help and the next part. And then Riku's perspective, or something like that. Oh… and I just noticed (well, not JUST noticed, but I've known for while), there's a "heavy" joke in there. Anyone see it?

R&R!


	8. Getting to Know Each Other

Rawr! Back to Alex and friends! This chapter be revealing the characters' pasts/more about them! I love it!

**Chapter 7: Getting To Know Each Other**

"You first Alex, nya!" Kristy said cheerfully.

"What? Why the hell does it hafta be me?"

"If you don't want to do it, go first and get it over with." Chris pointed out.

"Fine! How do I do this? Do I just answer your freakin' questions or do I tell an old man story?"

"I don't know. Start with where you came from and how you were raised and why you curse so much, nya!" Kristy's eyes were closed happily.

Alex grunted when Kristy asked about his cursing, but nonetheless started talking.

"I come from the planet Earth. I lived in a freakin' bad neighborhood where crime was always around the corner and police sirens were common. I guess I got used to the life of hell."

"I'm guessing that's how you know how to fight so well?" Chris asked.

"Bingo."

"What's 'bingo', nya?"

"Never mind about that, you freakin' cat person! Is that all you guys wanted to know?"

"Your life isn't very interesting, nya. What's Earth like?"

Answering Kristy's question, he said, "I dunno. It's a big round ball that's mostly water, got a bunch of clouds and a hell of a weather schedule, and a bunch of politics. There's thousands of species and cities; and technology: computers; TVs, which are freakin' televisions by the way; and all that shit."

"Did you have any friends?" Chris asked quietly.

Moving on to Chris' question from Kristy's, he replied bluntly, "Hell no. In a neighborhood like mine, the only friends you would get are the ones that are in the same gang as you. I didn't really like those freakin' gangs. I never did. I was kind of raised that way by my Ma, she wasn't from the hood I grew up in."

"So you do have morals…."

"Shut the hell up, cat!"

"Call me Kristy, nya. And I'm a Neko!"

"Whatever."

"So… you didn't have friends? Not even at school or anything?"

"Mm? School? Ha!" Alex laughed, "I always ditched. Sure, I went sometimes, but I just didn't like it at all. The girls there were bitches and the guys were sons of bitches. And most of the teachers were bastards. If not they were just annoying or boring as hell."

"Watch your tongue, Alex! Fi—"

"Kristy, I would advise against using magic within the vessel," Mary Belle said from behind Kristy.

Kristy let out a breath instead of the last syllable to the spell. "Fine. But he should still curse less, nya."

"Fine. I'll try." Alex said. "Well, moving on to the more recent times of my life, I had a weird dream that looked like it came out of a video game and ended up in Traverse Town. End of story."

"Profile recorded. Name: Alex. World: Earth. Species: Human. Age: Unknown. Status: Keybearer." Mary Belle said robotically, "Would you like to update your age?"

"What that hell?" Alex raised an eyebrow at the white cat. "Um… I'm fifteen."

"Profile updated. Is that all?"

"Chris! Your turn, nya!"

"What?" Chris was also staring at Mary Belle.

"Huh? Oh, don't worry about her. She's just acting like a computer, nya." Kristy said cheerfully.

"Okay then…." Chris paused, then turned to the other two. "Well, I come from the Destiny Islands. I grew up with that girl, my friend Ann, and the other kids on the island, which includes Sora, the other Keybearer."

"You knew the other Keybearer? Cool, nya!"

"Well, yeah. I didn't know he was the Keybearer though. Destiny Islands… was beautiful. It was really sunny and sandy and there were a lot of trees and it was lively there." Chris shrugged.

"Wow, your life was even more boring then mine. Then again, you didn't have video games."

"At least I know what technology is. I'm human like you, and Destiny Island was just beginning to develop advanced computers and stuff."

"Really now? I guess Destiny Island isn't so isolated and remote after all."

"What?"

"Screw you. Shut up." Chris was silent.

"You didn't actually have to shut up, nya."

"I know. I just don't know what to say."

"Hey, what weapon is that?" Kristy poked the dagger hanging on his belt.

"This is my Jade Blade. Someone on the island made it for me when I found the rock that it's made of."

"Cool! It's green, nya!"

"Green is freakin' ugly."

Once again, Chris was silent.

"Profile recorded. Name: Chris. World: Destiny Islands. Species: Human. Age: Unknown. Status: Dagger artist." The monotonous voice of Mary Belle broke the silence. "Would you like to update your age?"

"I'm sixteen years old."

"Profile updated. Is that all?"

"Yeah, I think that's it."

"Great. Now you tell us your story since you nagged us to tell you ours," Alex hesitated a moment, restraining the habit of calling her names, "Kristy. And don't bore me to death."

"But we've only spent a short time telling you about ourselves, nya."

"Three minutes and forty-seven seconds and counting, to be exact." Mary Belle said.

"Just tell us, damn it!"

"Okay, nya!" Kristy grinned, then began. "I'm a Neko, well, I'm really a Koneko, from Tengoku. Tengoku is cool because it's pretty much in the sky, so if we ever see water, below it there's no ground and just space or clouds, nya! Nekos are the most basic species in Tengoku, and my mother was a Neko Tenshi, one of the higher species. I want to be a really powerful Tenshi like my mom, that's why I was studying magic, nya! To become a Neko Tenshi I have to first go through a bunch of stages to evolve, so I'm trying my hardest to be the best mage, nya!" Kristy seemed so excited, then her face became long, "Well, then the Heartless appeared. Mary Bell and me, we were transported to Traverse Town a long time ago when that big black hole appeared, and everyone else went away. Now I've got to find my mom, too, nya."

"Updating previous profile…. Name: Kristy. World: Tengoku. Species: Neko, Koneko. Age: Nine. Status: Mage-in-training. No new updates." Mary Belle said.

"Wow…. So all your friends and family just disappeared? How sad… I never knew. I'm sorry." Chris said in a comforting tone.

"It's okay. That happens to everyone who goes to Traverse Town unintentionally, nya." Kristy said, back to her usual cheerful self.

"Hey, Kristy. How do you know the cat?" Alex asked, annoyed that her story seemed to take the longest.

"The cats are the most intelligent beings on Tengoku next to Nekos, though most Nekos don't understand Cat, nya. Belle is kind of abnormal because she was white, and white isn't a very common color for her species of cat. She's a rare type, actually she's some sort of mix. I think she's a bunch of different Shorthairs-Bombay-Abyssinian mix. Anyway, she just kind of hung around my house a lot and I became friends with her, nya."

"I was attracted to that particular household by your mother," Mary Belle explained, mostly to Kristy, "And we do not know what species I am since I do not remember my family, which is also why I came to your house, because of the Tenshi there that I thought could help me."

"Okay. So you're a mix breed of cat. Now I really feel like I'm talking to a mad scientist for some reason…." Chris said, closing his eyes.

"Why's she so freakin' small? I can squish her with my foot." Alex said in an almost sarcastic tone.

"I used that spell on her to make her talk and stuff, nya. She used to be… I don't know, a little less than a foot or so high?"

"Whoa. That's still freakin' small."

"Nya! You're being nicer!" Kristy chuckled, "But you should stop saying 'freakin' so much, it's bad for your speech."

"Shut up."

"The first world is approaching," Mary Belle said, her eyes reflecting computer characters again, "Setting course for Dwarf Forest."

"The first world, nya!" Kristy said excitedly, jumping up and down in her chair and clapping her hands.

"Kristy! Pay attention!" Chris gasped, horrified as he looked out the cockpit's window.

"Huh?" When she looked in Chris' direction, and then followed his gaze, she saw Heartless out in space, ready to shoot them down as they passed. "Oh no, nya!"

"Heartless!? What the hell are Heartless doing all the way out here!?" Alex screamed, his hand gripping the corner of Kristy's chair.

"It means the next world is infected by them! Alex, Chris, mind the defense system! Belle and me will get the controls, nya!" Kristy ordered, and everyone obeyed without question. Kristy's hands gripped the wheel tightly and Mary Belle braced herself on the control panel, her sharp cat nails making indents into the Gummi. "Get ready for one bumpy ride!"

* * *

Ha! Betcha you didn't expect that, huh!? ALEX IS FROM EARTH!! I didn't plan this in the original RP. But it's a fun chapter (to write and to read/watch the character interaction!). What city, exactly, won't be revealed till later (not in the fanfic, though. It's not revealed in the text, but I will in the commentary. Or maybe it'll be in the KHCOM or KH2 fanfic. I don't know, it might change if I find a worse city than what I chose (I've never been outside my city much, and when I do I'm confined to small spaces. So I don't know many bad neighborhoods). Take a guess though! And guess what video game he played (or at least he mentioned. He was just talking about it; it never said he played it). It's too obvious… 

The part where Kristy asks what Earth is like and Chris asks about friends, I can imagine a game form for that! If you play as Alex, you can go up to them and talk to them individually and they'd ask those questions. :) Hey, he's older than Sora!

Oh gods. I love Kristy even more. And everybody else loves her too (my teacher did! And Amanda (of course, Amanda…))! Amanda loves the world Kristy comes from. She said it was so cool. It was mentioned in the prologue, too. And her mom being a Neko Tenshi: that was unexpected too. Like Kristy being a Neko. I think I made her a Neko also 'cause I unconsciously wanted to use "Neko Tenshi" somewhere (it's cool! I based it off a background my brothers had).

I did a lot of research to try and decide what species Belle is. I still don't know what the heck she is. But she's unique and I love her. And she's like, three inches tall (I dunno. I keep saying that, but she might be taller).

Chris… is boring. I said it before; I'll say it again. Why do I keep insulting him? (Ponders)

R&R!


	9. Drawf Forest

I had no idea what Snow White's world was called. So I just made it up. Chances are this world won't appear in my KH2 fanfic. The only reason Kristy knows what dwarfs are is 'cause she's a magical creature and those appear in Tengoku myths, I guess. Maybe they're actual races in Tengoku, I dunno. I don't like Snow White that much. There's not much to say about this chapter. Read and review!

**Chapter 8: Dwarf Forest**

After fighting the Heartless in their Gummi ship, the group of heroes finally cleared the path and made it to Dwarf Forest. They landed in a clearing and got out, everybody stretching from the long ride and stiff positions during the flight.

"Nyaaa…." Kristy yawned as she stretched cattily, "Belle, should I put away the Gummi ship or just leave it here?"

"My suggestion is leaving it here. It is a seventy-six percent chance that no one will discover it. My sensors detect living beings, but most of which do not speak any humanoid species' language."

"Oh, okay then. Besides, it's not like anybody here knows how to drive it, nya."

Just then, they heard a scream echo through the forest around them. They looked at each other, nodding, and headed off into the forest, Mary Belle jumping onto Kristy's shoulder.

Near a darker part of the forest, they saw a girl with short black hair and a blue and yellow dress running. She was screaming for help, holding up the skirt of her dress as she ran from the Heartless trailing behind her.

As she ran past the trio, they readied their weapons. Half the Heartless immediately changed course and headed for the Keyblade. Alex handled those Soldiers and Nocturnes easily, while Chris and Kristy fought the Heartless chasing the girl.

"Thunder!" Kristy cast, and heard a zap, but the Heartless in front of her was unharmed. "Huh?"

"Damn it! What the hell was that for!?" Alex yelled behind her, smoke rising from his body as he recovered and resumed fighting.

"Huh, nya? What happened? Thunder!" She tried again, and it obviously didn't work like the previous time, but the Heartless was still there when the zap sounded.

"What, nya?" Kristy wondered out loud, confused, unnoticing of the Heartless advancing.

"Damn it, kid! Focus! And stop shocking me!" Alex said as he jumped in front of her and swiped at the Heartless, fuming.

"Huh? Oh… Thanks, nya!" She said cheerfully, turning and whacking a Heartless Shadow on the head.

When the battle was finished, they were all tired and the girl had disappeared. She had probably run away during the match. The first thing Kristy did was ask Alex a question as she looked over at him.

"What happened to you, nya?"

Alex grunted, glaring at her. He must have been zapped a few more times after Alex defended her. He was black in places that were burnt yet his clothes remained almost in tact and clean. His Keyblade must have absorbed most of the shock.

"Don't worry, I'll fix it, nya!" Kristy grinned toothily, "Cure!"

In a moment his face was normal and his teammates could see his skin again.

"Shouldn't you say 'thank you'?" Mary Belle asked, sticking her small head out from under Kristy's hat.

Alex rolled his eyes, then paused, as if thinking, then finally he said, "Thanks, Kristy." Mumbling something about Kristy being sorry, he turned away.

"You're welcome, nya!"

"Where did that girl go?" Chris asked the other two.

"I dunno. I think she went this way? It doesn't matter, let's just get the hell outta this place. I don't like it, I was born in the city after all."

"My sensors are detecting life forms north of our current position. Human ones."

"Let's go, then!" Alex said, impatiently walking off.

Chris and Kristy followed suit briskly. While walking, Chris wondered out loud, "Why were the Heartless chasing that girl?"

"I don't know. Maybe because she has a strong heart, nya?" Kristy answered.

About a half-hour later they reached a bridge and a small cottage. Kristy's ears twitched curiously as she looked around.

"Why did the damn girl have to run this far? I didn't even know someone wearing a freakin' skirt could run that fast." Alex complained, resting his feet.

"Shh…. Look." Chris put a finger up to his lips to signal silence, and they all looked towards the house. Many short men with beards were in the house, looking around and out the window with fear.

"What the hell are they doing?"

"I think those are… dwarfs, nya!" Just then the girl appeared, smiling. The dwarfs seemed to relax, and the girl began to sing and do chores as the men exited, animals surrounding the house.

"What's going on?" Chris wondered after stepping out from his hiding place after the dwarfs marched by, singing a mining tune.

"I don't care. Let's go." Alex said, walking over the bridge and to the cottage.

"Don't forget to be nice, nya!"

"Shut up!"

Alex knocked on the door and the girl answered, blinking. The animals nearby watched curiously and shyly.

"Yes…? Excuse my rudeness, but you don't look like you're from around here, or the castle. If you don't mind me asking, where did you come from?" The girl asked.

"My name is Alex, this is Kristy and Chris," Alex said politely the best he could, motioning to Kristy who seemed to be talking to the animals, and Chris who waited patiently behind him. "We're from a very far away place."

"My name is Snow White," The girl said, curtsying, "Welcome to Dwarf Forest."

"That's nice to know, I'm sure. We were wondering, why were those black things chasing you?" Alex asked bluntly.

"So you were the three that helped me in the forest when I was searching for one of my animal friends! I thought you were one of my stepmother's soldiers come to kill me."

"What? Your stepmother?" Chris asked.

"Yes. Oh, how silly of me. Come in, come in. Watch your head, the ceiling and doorway is a bit low. This is the dwarfs' house, after all." They all entered, sitting down in the low chairs in the kitchen. When they were all settled, even though the small chairs were uncomfortable, Snow White continued talking.

"My stepmother is the Queen of the castle that rules the lands. She's tried to have me killed countless times. I think those black things are on her side."

"Well, we'll protect you from them, then. We're here to get rid of those anyway." Chris said. Alex nudged him in the ribcage, hard. Flinching, he still managed not to say "ow".

"Really? That's great! Thank you!"

"Excuse us for a moment." Alex said bitterly, pulling Chris and Kristy aside. Snow White smiled and turned to do chores in the kitchen. "What the hell do you think you're doing? We're not a protection service! We have to find the freakin' Keyhole!"

"I know! But Snow White is being hunted by Heartless, and her stepmother seems to be affiliated with them. Maybe there's more going on then we know!" Chris pointed out, "I just think we should stick around and check it out."

"Yeah, well, our mission was to find and lock the Keyhole, and that's what we're going to do! We don't have time to see what's up with some old hag!"

"I agree with Chris, nya!" Alex paused, staring at the other two.

"Fine. But I'm not doing anything… much. I'm gonna go find the Keyhole." Alex crossed his arms, turning and about to leave when he stopped. "…How the hell am I supposed to find a Keyhole? I don't even know what it looks like."

"Good question. Me neither, nya."

"Great…. Just great."

"Why don't we search by foot? Didn't Leon say something about your Keyblade knowing when there's a Keyhole nearby?"

"Chris, he said 'maybe', and something about my Keyblade being kinda different from Sora's."

"So? I still say we look around."

"…Fine." Alex grumbled, then he turned to Snow White, "Snow White, we're going to check Dwarf Forest out. Do you mind?"

"Not at all. I'm sure the Queen won't plan another attack so soon." With her permission, he went outside and faced a tree, screaming a few curse words. His teammates stared.

"What? This is what happens when I try to be so freakin' polite."

"Nya. You're weird, hehe."

"Shut up, Kristy."

The group wandered around for a while, seeing trees and trees all around them.

"Didn't we already pass this place?" Chris wondered.

"Damn! When are we going to find something? We've been going in circles!"

"Maybe we should head back to Snow White's house." Chris suggested.

"Good idea! The best one I've heard from you yet, Chris." Alex said sarcastically. "If I recall, it was your freakin' idea to come here and search this place by foot in the first place!"

"Well, sorry! Okay? Let's just get out of here."

"I wonder if we'll remember the way back to the Gummi ship, nya?" Kristy giggled. "I wonder if we'll even make it there? Let's see how long it takes for those two to tear each other apart. Belle, nya?"

Mary Belle popped up from under Kristy's hat again. "You shouldn't encourage your friends to fight each other, Kristy. You should—"

"I know, I know. I should stop them, nya. But you've got to admit, Alex started it."

Mary Belle looked at Kristy from her position, and then played back the beginning of the argument. Her lips didn't move, but sound came out of her. From the sound of it, it was more like Chris starting it.

"You recorded us!?" Alex screamed, frustrated.

"Belle is—"

"I'm chronicling this whole journey, for future reference such as the example before. And it is for personal reminiscence." Mary Belle explained it herself, instead of Kristy, who was pouting a little. "It is one of my few features that is actually technology-like."

"Where I come from, that's freakin' illegal! Recoding someone's life…."

"Not on this journey, nya!"

Chris waved his hands, trying to get their attention as if they were far away. "Guys! It doesn't matter! Let's just get out of here…"


	10. Back to Traverse

Last one for today! Merry Christmas everyone!**  
**

**Chapter 9: Back to Traverse**

Animals ran by, the trio wondered what they were up to. Following the animals, shouting "Which way?", "Hurry!" and all sorts of things, were the Seven Dwarfs.

"Hey, what's going on!?" Alex demanded the nearest passing dwarf, grabbing him by his shirt collar.

"Snow White! Snow White is in danger!" The dwarf, Doc, said, pushing Alex's hands away and rushing off with the others. The group quickly agreed to help save Snow White among themselves, without words, and began pursuing the animals and dwarfs.

"Damn it! I knew somebody should have stayed with her!"

* * *

"I wish…" 

"It doesn't matter what you wish for! Eat the apple!" Lightning flashed behind the old hag and Snow White. Black shadows formed on the ground slowly, concealed by the clouds covering the sun.

Snow White was about to bite into the red apple, when she saw the shadows. She dropped the apple, her eyes widening as she tripped and fell onto her backside. She sat up quickly, moving away from the Heartless.

"Get her!" The hag heard behind her, turning around she saw the Seven Dwarfs suddenly come forward, accompanied by all of Snow White's animal friends and the Keybearer and his company. The hag ran off, the Seven Dwarfs following her on this dark and stormy night, and the heroes skidded to a halt in front of the cottage to protect the horrified girl.

Another battle raged on, lightning flashed and thunder clapped, and Alex, Chris, and Kristy wiped out another dozen Heartless after the previous dozen.

"Is it just me, or are they multiplying every time we defeat one?"

"We kill one, two more replace it! Damn it!"

Alex aimed the point of his Keyblade at a Requiem, knowing he couldn't reach it, but wished for some way to hit it. Glaring at it, he found a glow forming at the tip of his blade. In an instant it became a fireball and shot at the Requiem. Confused but without time to question, he turned and swiped at a Soldier.

When Kristy incinerated the last Shadow, a large dark hole appeared on the ground. "Oh, shit…" Alex's eyes followed the head of the new Heartless as it appeared. It was a stag-like beast, with the same glowing yellow Heartless eyes as all the others and the Heartless emblem on its chest. "Let's do this, guys!"

After the battle, everyone was tired and out of potions. The dwarfs returned. "The witch is dead!" They announced.

Everyone turned to look toward the door of the cottage where Snow White had been. She was gone.

"Snow White? Snow White?" The dwarfs called out, and part of the trio of heroes was searching for the girl too.

"Maybe she ran away. She's one hell of a runner, after all." Alex said as he watched Chris and Kristy run around and call out for Snow White.

"Impossible. I do not feel her life signs on this world anymore!" Mary Belle said next to him, jumping onto a deer's back with permission and then onto Alex's shoulder, making him flinch. She settled comfortably near his neck.

"What?" Chris stopped, looking at Mary Belle.

"She had disappeared from this world. Her life signature isn't traceable anymore."

"Great, just great. Get off me, cat." Alex said, shifting so it forced Mary Belle to move. She jumped to Chris' shoulder. "Can we just forget about it and find the Keyhole? We totally forgot the freakin' point of being here."

"Sure…" Chris said hesitantly, "But we said we'd protect her."

"Yeah, well, she's gone now to who knows where. Get over it. Let's go." Alex said, stalking off. Chris quickly apologized to the dwarfs for leaving and followed after the red-haired boy.

A little further into the woods, heading toward the Gummi ship by Mary Belle's direction, Alex stopped. There was a path leading off to the side they hadn't noticed before. Following it, the group found a small cave with many mine carts and other things nearby. Butterflies flew carelessly around the area.

"This must be the dwarf's mine, nya."

Alex stared at it with an odd feeling in his gut. His Onyx Keyblade materialized in his hand, and without thinking, he held it out in front of him. A Keyhole made out of light appeared in front of them at the entrance of the cave, and automatically a thin beam of blue light shot from the tip of his Keyblade into the Keyhole. There was a click. The world was sealed.

They were all speechless until they got back to the Gummi ship and took off.

"So… that was the Keyhole, huh?" Chris said to break the silence.

"…Hey Kristy. Something happened with my Keyblade during the battle. Do you know what the hell it was?"

"Huh? Oh, I saw that thing. I didn't know you had magic too, nya! What a great way to channel that power, too. Using your Keyblade, very nice, nya."

"Huh?" Alex said dumbly.

"You used 'Fire' back there, nya. You do know that, right?"

"…No. How the hell would I know? We didn't have any freakin' magic on Earth. Just the magic of science."

"Really? Oh, well. Hey, I have an idea! Let's go back to Traverse Town, nya. Maybe Teacher will be back and he can explain how to use magic to you, nya!"

"It would be a good opportunity to restock on potions and buy new equipment too." Mary Belle said.

"Traverse Town, huh?" Chris said quietly.

* * *

Leon and Aerith greeted them when they arrived. "Back so soon? How was the first world? Good job on locking the Keyhole in Dwarf Forest." Aerith said. 

"The first world was pretty peaceful, till Chris volunteered us to be some freakin' girl's bodyguard; the Keyhole thing was confusing, and how the hell did you know we went to Dwarf Forest?"

"Mary Belle sent us a report on your mission. She'll do that every time you seal a Keyhole." Leon explained.

"I have no comment." Alex said sarcastically, obviously annoyed by the tiny white cat.

"Leon, do you know why the heartless were going after Snow White?" Chris asked.

"I don't. Maybe it was because of her heart."

"Actually, I have a theory…." Aerith explained about the origins of the magic that created Heartless from her analysis of the Ansem Reports that Sora was helping them gather. Aside from explaining about Ansem and their world as well, she also told them about who she thought the girls, which they were calling Princesses, were being kidnapped by: Maleficent.

"Be careful of the witch, Maleficent. She's been controlling the Heartless for years, it's the reason we aren't in our world."

"So… there are a buncha girls out there who are being kidnapped?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Supposedly. Alice from Wonderland has already disappeared, and now Snow White, too." Leon said.

"So now we've got to rescue these princesses too? Damn, I can't get a break around here." Alex mumbled.

"Yes, please try your best in rescuing the princesses." Aerith smiled gently.

"Not to sound rude, Aerith, but can we get going now, nya? I have to find teacher."

"Yes, go ahead." Aerith said, letting them go on their way.

"By the way, uh, Aerith, where's Ann?" Chris asked her before he left.

Silence answered him. He looked at both Aerith and Leon. "I hate to be the one to break it to you, kid. Your friend disappeared." Leon finally said with a solemn face. Chris stared. "We think she either tried to go after you guys or she was attacked by Heartless."

"No…." Chris whispered, "She's alright. I know it. If she wasn't, I would feel it." He said, and then took off to another direction.

"Hey, Chris? Where are you going, nya?" Kristy called when she stopped and saw Chris was running away.

"Poor child…." Aerith looked on at his shrinking figure.

* * *

This is the only time Belle displays her life-tracing ability thing. Strange. I dunno why I put it there. Really, I don't. I guess I just needed some reason for her to talk or them to realize the Snow White was gone. 

Chris is really one to keep promises. That's one of the traits I created for him, loyal and trusting. He's really disappointed he failed to keep a promise… or something like that. His promises are interesting to write about when it's like that. (Shrug) But other than that, he's still boring. But it was fun to write him arguing with Alex in the last chapter!

You ever notice butterflies are around or something symbolizing them is there when you lock a Keyhole? I try to keep as many elements from the game as possible in here, excluding Alex's cursing, and maybe Kristy's Japanese-like tongue (yeah, it's Japanese. I couldn't help it. In the English game or something the official people would probably make her say "meow" or something).

R&R!


	11. Ann's Wish,Kristy's Teacher,Chris' Hope

**Chapter 10: Ann's Wish, Kristy's Teacher, Chris' Hope**

Ann and Riku had just gotten back from Agrabah, greeted by Hades and Maleficent.

"That smarmy vizier could've had 'em—if someone had stuck around to give him a hand." Hades commented.

"Hey, we did our part, so shut up." Ann glared at the blue god.

"We brought the princess, didn't we?" Riku said, adding to her argument.

"Jafar was beyond help, consumed by his own hatred. One should beware of letting it burn too fiercely." Maleficent said in reply to the previous statements, mostly to Hades. Ann looked at her, wondering what it meant.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Lighten up. I'm as cool as they come, okay?" Hades then turned to Riku, "By the way, kid, have we got something special for you."

"Huh?"

"We had a deal, yes? You helped us, and we grant you your wish…." Maleficent turned her head towards the table in the room where a projection of a red-haired girl appeared.

"Kairi…?" Ann wondered. Is that why Riku was on the dark side?

"Kairi!" Riku couldn't help but want to reach out and help her, but he knew it was only an image.

"Go to her. Your vessel is waiting." Maleficent urged, and Captain Hook appeared.

"Just remember, this is no pleasure cruise. It won't be a pleasant voyage." Captain Hook said immediately.

"Why are you doing all this for me? What's the catch?" Riku asked, suspicious.

"Catch? What's the catch? Silly boy. You're like a son to me. I only want you to be happy." Maleficent reached out to touch Riku's cheek in a caring manner, but he shoved her hand away.

"I seriously doubt that." He said. Ann silently cheered him on for not trusting the witch. She would've said the same.

"Believe what you wish. But lest we forget, I kept my end of the bargain." Maleficent said, and Riku followed Captain Hook to board his ship in Neverland. Ann took a step to follow, but Maleficent put a hand on her shoulder. "You aren't going with him, girl."

"Huh?"

"I have a different mission for you." Maleficent said. "And since you, too, have completed your job with Riku, I will grant your wish. Do you still want power beyond your wildest dreams?"

"Yes…. But there's something else." Ann said, surprising Maleficent.

"What might that be?"

"I don't know yet." Ann said, her voice tinted with sadness and disappointment.

"Whatever it may be, I will try to help, if that is what you wish. In return," The witch said, "I want you to go to Beast's Castle and retrieve Belle." An image appeared on the table of the girl named 'Belle'.

"Why her?"

"She is needed to open the door."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"All will be explained in time. For now, complete the mission and don't ask questions until the time is right."

"Then you will help me?"

"I will, and now I will grant your wish of power as you may need it for this task."

"Are you saying I'll be weak without Riku?" Ann demanded as a dark purple-hued glow formed in Maleficent's hand.

"Not at all." That was the only thing Maleficent said before the dark glow enveloped Ann.

* * *

Kristy and Alex decided to leave Chris alone on Aerith's advice. They headed to Kristy's house, the Magician's Study.

"Nya, Alex, shoot fire at the door. I want to see you do that spell again!"

"What?! Are you trying to burn your neighborhood down or something?" Alex looked at her as if she were crazy.

"No. Just do it! That's how you open it, nya. It's like a key, see?" She motioned to the door in front of them, a wooden one with a giant fire symbol on the front.

"…Fine." Alex said, hesitating. He didn't want to be responsible for any damage done to Traverse Town. It would mean he had to pay for it. "Burn!" He didn't use the exact word, but the fire shot from his Keyblade anyway. It hit the symbol on the door and the door swung open.

"See? There's nothing to it. No harm done, nya!" Kristy grinned at him toothily, showing her cat fangs once again, which sent a shiver down Alex's spine for some reason. "And you're getting better at spell casting!" She paused, then thought for a moment. "Here, you can have these, since you're mastering your skills so quickly, nya." One of her hands glowed white and the other green as she took Alex's hand, the glow of her hands made its way to his on contact, and he felt a tingle and burning feeling run through his body. "It's 'Blizzard' and 'Cure'. Use it well, nya."

Alex was amazed. She had just given him magic.

They went inside, it was a structure in the middle of a lake-like area. "Whoa…. You've got one hell of a place here."

"Thanks, nya!" She proceeded, skipping from stepping stone to stepping stone easily with cat speed and balance, having done it so many times before. Alex, on the other hand, was having a bit more difficult time. Then they reached the front door, Kristy went around to the back, a confused Alex following her. They saw a large crack in the wall. Kristy crawled through, but Alex couldn't even fit.

"Wait at the front door, Alex, nya!" Kristy called from inside. Still confused, Alex obeyed. Moments later, there was a click and the door opened. "Sorry about that, nya. I don't have the key to the house." She laughed.

"Whatever." He went inside and looked around, and Kristy for the first time noticed there were chairs around and books on the shelf.

"Teacher is home, nya!" Kristy cheered, "Teacher, I'm home! Fairy Godmother, where are you? You two can come out now!"

An old man in blue clothing appeared from the spiral staircase in the center of the room. "Ah, Kristy, you're back."

"So are you, nya!"

"Ah, yes. I came back just as Sora and the King's friends came by. Leon and the others told me what happened."

"Oh my," There was a puff of smoke nearby and an elderly woman in a blue dress appeared where a small pumpkin once sat. "Kristy dear, welcome home."

"Hi Fairy Godmother! Nya, Teacher, Fairy Godmother, this is Alex! He's the other Keybearer. He needs to learn a little magic, or hone his skills or something, nya." Kristy said, then turned to Alex and motioned to the old man, "Alex, this is my Teacher, Merlin; and the Fairy Godmother."

"Thank you for finally including me. You lost me a little while back!" Alex complained.

"Well, if it's magic you need to learn, I have just the thing. I was just teaching Sora's group a while ago." Merlin said, motioning for the two to follow him upstairs. "And Kristy, you need to refresh your training."

"Yes sir, nya!"

They entered a wide and mostly empty room. "This is the training room, nya! You can burn the walls and they won't burn, nya!" The blonde Koneko explained to Alex.

"Whatever. Let's get started." Alex said, then gave a pause, "Um… How do we do that?"

* * *

Chris was sitting on the ground against a wall in the Secret Waterway. "Ann…." He whispered, the sound echoing against the walls. "I lost her! I promised myself I wouldn't lose her again! Damn…." He cursed. This wasn't his usual self, but he didn't care if anyone heard. He longed to see Ann. He still felt her heart, just barely. He feared something was truly wrong. "I shouldn't have left her here!" He squeezed his eyes shut, his hands curling in a ball. "No, why should I blame myself? Leon and Aerith said they would protect Ann. What a lie. I promised her we'd go home together… and now she's gone." He said to himself, his fists tightening, "But… she's still alive. I just have to find her. I'll find her!" He told himself, getting up with a newfound ray of hope.

He was about to exit the Secret Waterway when he saw something beside the water. Crouching down, he picked it up, examining it. "A… Gummi?"

* * *

Chris went over to Cid's Workshop, presenting the Gummi to Cid.

"That's a Navigation Gummi, or Navi-G piece for short. Sora's gang found one of those things earlier. If you want, I could install it." Cid offered.

"I don't know, maybe you should talk to Kristy about this…." Chris said.

"It's not even her ship. I lent it to her. I'm sure she won't mind. Besides, a Navi-G piece is much easier and better than that midget cat she has."

"Mary Belle? I suppose…."

"Leave it to me! Go do your thing and come back later."

"Okay. By the way, do you know where Kristy and Alex are?"

"Last I heard they were headed to Kristy's place. Her house is in Third District. Look for the door with a big fire on it."

"…Okay…."

* * *

The group rejoined each other at the Magician's Study, and after finishing their training, the group said goodbye to Merlin and Fairy Godmother. They boarded their ship again, lifting off.

"By the way, Cid installed a Navi-G piece."

"I could tell, nya. Where'd you get it?"

"I found it."

"Oh, okay. So, where to next, nya?" Kristy was looking down at the screen before her. There were three dots that indicated the nearby worlds and many others indicating the worlds that were further away.

"I don't care. Let's go that way." Alex mumbled, pointing to the left.

"Sensors indicate that the world over there is called—"

Mary Belle was quieted by an annoyed yell from Alex, "I don't care what the hell it's called! Let's just get a move on! So shut up you stupid cat!"

Everyone was silent, staring at Alex. "…What?"

"It seems Alex does not like me."

"Oh, Belle. Don't worry about him, nya. He's just like that. I'm sure everyone will get along soon enough, nya."

"Yeah, just ignore what he says, Belle. You were only trying to help." Chris scratched Mary Belle's head, causing her to purr.

"Thank you. You are all so kind."

"Um… you're welcome," Chris said, unsure of why she was saying thanks.

"Well then! Onto the next world, nya!"

* * *

Hehheh, sorry I forgot to update last week!

Gods, everyone's perspective is in this one! Jeez! Once again, Chris' promise trait became fun to write about, even if it's short. And the appearance of Kristy's teacher! Yay!

…I don't like this chapter that much. A bit short and kind of pointless, now that I think about it.

Hmm… what word could they be going to next? And an unexpected character makes his first appearance and interaction with our heroes!

Here's a preview for next time on Inverted Hearts: Twilight Promise! (This is also to make up for forgetting to update.)

_"My, my. Don't you look like a Heartless?" He commented, "A very nice costume for Halloween, it's very scary."_

Who's talking to whom? Cookies for correct guesses ;)

Read and review!


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